LOGINDemon pretends he doesn’t notice the moment shift. This is a lie. He notices everything. He just chooses when to acknowledge it based on how entertaining the fallout might be. Right now, he’s leaning against a tree like a decorative menace, arms crossed, expression bored in the theatrical way that
The mate bond hits like a migraine wrapped in arrogance. I’m halfway through chewing a piece of dried fruit, of questionable origin, courtesy of Demon, when the pressure blooms behind my eyes, sharp and familiar and utterly unwelcome. You will listen to me. I choke, coughing as Raph immediately s
The forest goes quiet in a way that has nothing to do with peace. It’s the kind of quiet that presses against your ears, that makes even breathing feel loud. The birds don’t scatter, they vanish. The wind doesn’t stop; it waits. The land itself draws a line and holds it. That’s when I know he’s he
My fingers curl at my sides. “Who told you?” “No one,” he replies. “I followed the noise.” Nathan blinks. “The noise.” “Yes. Relics don’t like being bored. Especially not ones with opinions.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “That bident is not meant to be used. Especially by the one seeking it no
Nathan argues like a man who believes logic is a shield. I love him for it. I also know better. We’re halfway down the hall when he finally stops pretending this conversation is casual and turns fully toward me, boots planting with that familiar Alpha finality, like the ground itself has agreed to
Not just because she lacks patience but because waiting implies restraint. And restraint, when you already know the truth, feels suspiciously like lying. She stands at the edge of the terrace, moonlight pooling at her feet, hands clasped behind her back like she’s holding herself still by force. Th
Pearl figured it out, though. She ran. The dead approve of that part. They disapprove of who she’s running from and, apparently, the companion she is running with. Nathan enters a moment later. He looks as tired as Mark does, and I wonder if Lorn seems as exhausted as they do. Not physically—men
The dead don’t mourn the way the living do. They don’t cry. They don’t cling. They don’t spiral into what-ifs and maybes. They remember. And lately, everything they remember keeps circling back to Pearl. Not because she’s gone. Because she’s running. I wake before dawn with that truth already
They press on me to change the king back. It hasn’t even been that long, just two short weeks, yet they act as if centuries have passed. And still he has learned nothing. Still, he refuses to listen to the truth; every voice around him keeps trying to press into that thick royal skull. We have all t
I rise, pulling Katia up with me. “Come, Ti Ti. It’s time I release Tristan. Pearl has had a two-week head start, and she does not travel alone. Demon and Gaia confirmed it.” “You already knew this, didn’t you?” She asks. I lift one eyebrow and give her a sideways glance. “Let’s just say Pearl has







