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
I blink at Raph’s last remark, because surely I misheard him. My wolf? Broken? That’s not possible. Lycan wolves don’t just break like cheap clay pots dropped by a toddler. But the look on his face says he’s serious, and that makes me sputter like I just swallowed half the stream behind us. “What?
By the time the sun found the far sill and sat there, poised on the lip like a coin that can’t decide which way to roll, I’d worn a pattern in the dust between the water bowl and the anise fields on the map. Pathetic, I thought. But rituals make men. Even petty ones.When the door opened again, the
Something inside me loosens. And before I can think better of it, I lean up on my toes and kiss his cheek. Not flirty. Not romantic. Just grateful. Warm gratitude blooming through my chest in a way I didn’t expect. “Thank you,” I whisper. “He realized he could torture me through the bond since
“Better,” Lorn said in a low rumble. His eyes found me; something like private amusement flickered there, the kind given to a child who has announced a kingdom and has only a puddle. “We can’t afford soft steps on those ruins. The ash there remembers footprints.”I caught Lorn’s scent, pine and iron







