LOGINEdricWord traveled faster than I expected.By the next morning the entire pack house seemed to know. Conversations stopped when Leon and I entered the dining hall. Eyes fixed first on my face, then dropped unerringly to the side of my neck where the bond mark sat above the collar of my shirt. Some looks held reluctant respect. Most held open disbelief or thinly veiled disgust. A few of the older wolves stared as if I had grown a second head.Aria felt the shift too. She stayed closer to me than usual at breakfast, her earlier cautious curiosity replaced by quiet protectiveness.The summons arrived before midday.A formal notice, sealed with the council’s mark, requested the Alpha and his… bonded companion… to appear in the council chamber at once. The deliberate pause before “bonded companion” was impossible to miss.Leon read it once, jaw tightening, then looked at me. Through the bond I felt a flare of cold anger mixed with steely resolve.“We go together,” he said. “Stay beside me
EdricAria wanted to walk again.Two days after the bond had formed, the mark on my neck still throbbed with a low, constant heat. I had kept it covered with high collars and scarves, uncertain how to explain the permanent scar that was already settling into my skin. Leon had been almost unbearably attentive since then, checking the mark several times a day, sending quiet pulses of reassurance through the bond whenever my thoughts drifted toward anxiety.“You’re hovering,” Aria said as we stepped onto the gravel path behind the east wing. She was stronger today, color better, though she still moved carefully. “I’m not going to break just because I know what everyone here is.”“I’m not hovering. I’m… accompanying.”She gave me a look that said she wasn’t fooled. We walked slowly, staying on the nearer paths Leon had declared safest. The air was cool and carried the scent of pine and damp earth. For a short while it almost felt normal.That feeling ended when we rounded the corner near
EdricThe knot held us locked together for a long time.I lay beneath Leon, chest against the mattress, his weight a heavy, living blanket over my back. Every small shift sent another throb through the place where we were joined. The bite on my neck pulsed in time with my heartbeat. It was hot, sore, and strangely alive. I could feel something new under my skin, like a second pulse that didn’t belong only to me.Then the feelings started.At first I thought it was just leftover adrenaline. But the longer we stayed tied, the clearer it became. A low, fierce current of emotion that wasn’t mine kept brushing against the edges of my mind. Possessiveness. Protection. A deep, almost stunned satisfaction. And underneath it all, a bright, rising joy that felt completely at odds with the violence of the last hour.I inhaled sharply.Leon noticed immediately. “What is it?”“I can… feel you.” My voice came out rough. “Not just the knot. Something else. Like your emotions are leaking into me.”Hi
EdricThe message arrived in the middle of the afternoon.I was in Aria’s sitting room helping her sort through a box of old books Leon had ordered when my phone vibrated. The number was unknown, but the preview made my stomach drop.>We need to talk. You’re in over your head with these animals. I can still help you leave. – MMarcus.I stared at the screen long enough that Aria noticed.“What’s wrong?”“Nothing.” I locked the phone and set it face down. “Spam.”She didn’t look convinced, but she let it go. I waited until I was alone in the corridor before I opened the full message. There were three more waiting.>He’ll get tired of you. They always do.>You saw what he did to me. You think you’re safe?>Answer me, Edric!My hands were unsteady when I deleted the entire thread. I should have told Leon immediately. Instead I stood there longer than I should have, trying to shove the old fear back down where it belonged.I never got the chance to decide how to bring it up.Leon found me
EdricAria did not sleep well that night.I knew because I barely slept either. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the fear on her face when I told her the truth, the way she had backed away from Leon before slowly, carefully, choosing to stay. When I finally drifted off, it was to the solid warmth of Leon’s body curved around mine and the quiet promise that we would handle whatever came next.Morning light was already filtering through the curtains when I woke. Leon was gone from the bed, but the sheets on his side were still warm. I found him standing near the window, already dressed, speaking in a low voice to someone on the other end of a call. He ended it as soon as he saw me sit up.“How is she?” he asked.“I haven’t checked yet.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “She took it better than I expected by the end. But she’s going to have questions. A lot of them.”Leon nodded. “Answer what you can. I’ll speak with her again if she wants. No pressure.”I dressed and went to the east wing
EdricAria had been restless all morning.She had color in her cheeks again and enough energy that staying cooped up in the east wing was starting to feel like another kind of hospital. When she asked if we could walk the grounds, I hesitated only a moment. Leon had increased patrols. The private gardens and the nearer paths were supposed to be safe. I told myself a short walk in the open air would do her good.I was wrong about how quiet it would stay.We left through the side entrance nearest her rooms, following a gravel path that wound between old trees and low stone walls. The air was cool and clean. Aria linked her arm through mine and breathed it in like something precious."This place is beautiful," she said. "Even if half the people in it look at us like we're a disease.""Ignore them," I told her. "Most of them won't say anything to your face."I should not have spoken so soon.We had not gone far when a small group of younger wolves, three men and two women, came down the p
EdricI don’t go back to Luna Noir.I tell myself that like it’s a promise, like if I repeat it often enough it will turn into something solid… something I can stand on when my knees threaten to give out.The sun is barely up when I leave the apartment, the city still yawning awake. Queens feels di
EdricI thought Leon had been exaggerating when he asked me why I let the ‘vampire’ touch me. I thought maybe it was a kink in the club.That was the first mistake.After the night he dragged me into that private room, after the bruising kiss, the way his hands shook like he was holding himself bac
LeonThe night was already running hot.Luna Noir throbbed with its usual pulse, music vibrating through the obsidian walls, supernatural auras winding through the air like smoke, scents sharp and heavy with desire. My wolves worked the floor, the vampires stalked the balcony, and everyone knew the
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.I stood backstage at Luna Noir, the low thrum of the crowd vibrating up through the floor and into my spine. Even the air felt alive, humming with anticipation. The music leaked faintly from the speakers overhead, a dark, pulsing rhythm that seemed to sync with my he







