Instantly, I understood.“I’m nothing if not traditional.” Dain murmured, rubbing the back of his neck as he sank onto one knee. His throat worked as he swallowed, his eyes fixated on my own, shimmering with a mixture of hope and worry. “Rachel…you’re the mate I never thought I’d meet, and the one I knew I didn’t deserve. This isn’t how I anticipated things would go, not one bit. I never planned on wanting to keep you, but the second you won Iridian and stepped foot in my castle, I couldn’t imagine letting you go. I told myself I’d win you over by showing you the beauty magic could bring into your life. I hoped that in doing so I’d eventually earn your affection, even though that’s something I’m still not sure I deserve…” The color across his cheeks deepened, his eyes concealing flashes of shame. “I’m not a good man, not entirely. It’s not merely my plan that’s motivating me to do this, but the desire to keep you—to have you at my side for eternity. This thing between us, this game wh

For a second, I’d thought the White Bull had retreated, knowing its days were numbered as they ticked away on the calendar, but I’d been wrong. The closer the wedding and mating ceremony became, the more restless its presence seemed to become. Every couple of hours, I could feel it stirring. Deep within the abyss it carved within the furthest depths of my mind, it’s voice would slither forth.It played on my doubts, fears, and the darkest of thoughts I’d never admit had come from my own mind. Now more than ever, I had to resist.In between the back and forth with the wedding staff and juggling time with my family and with Dain, I found spare moments to sneak into the archive room and the numerous libraries around the castle, all in search of information on the ancient force of evil I’d been battling.What information I found was troublesome and had already been given to me by the bull itself.The few who were tricked or lulled into letting it slither into their minds, they never laste

He knew. This entire time, he knew.The moment I saw the picture and the sickening heat of embarrassment and betrayal gripped my throat; all reason had been tossed out the window.It didn’t matter that he’d been nothing more than the Game Master at the time, or that I’d been clueless about my true role in all of this.All that mattered was that he lied—he pretended not to know when the truth of what I’d done was crushing me alive, tainting every moment we had together.I’d resisted him and the pull of the mate-bond because of what I’d done, but not only did he not care that I’d murdered his brother—his last remaining family member, but he knew this whole time.For the duration of my short life, I’d always been quick to anger, but this was different.Instead of a raging inferno that boiled the blood in my veins and made my skin flush with heat, I was swallowed whole by the very presence I’d been fighting for two weeks, consumed by the hatred it injected into my thoughts.The White Bull

Free falling into the very abyss I spent weeks running from wasn’t wrought with fear or anguish like I’d expected.It was peaceful. A slow decline into oblivion—into pure nothingness, with only Rayna’s steadying gaze to ground me.It wasn’t instinct that led me to reach towards her, but the same unearthly voice which had sung to me the only resolution in my fight with the White Bull. Rayna met me halfway, stretching until the muscles in her neck grew taut and her snout grazed my fingertips. That small touch was all it took.As Rayna vanished, the last thing I saw was the love in her eyes, even brighter than the sun itself.In that moment, the darkness imploded.Waves and waves of billowing colors surrounded me, thrashing, and melting into one another to form a writhing cocoon around my body. Within each color was a memory, a fragment of the love that fueled my light and strengthened my soul.A wriggling sliver of the brightest violet I’d ever seen held Adley’s smiling face, her ocean-

It was Dain’s voice paired with the comforting sparks crawling across my skin that pulled me out of my head and brought me spiraling back to reality.His scent of male musk tinged with black cherries filled my senses, wiping away the memory of his blood and the sharp metallic notes that still filled the air. Every soft word he whispered in my ear was accompanied by the heavy thud ofhis heart. The sound was growing louder, stronger as it beat in his chest and pumped blood to the rest of his body.The sound was one I always wanted to hear; one I knew would relax me until the end of time. It was relief so pure I knew I’d be on the floor if it weren’t for his steadying hold on my body. Already, I could feel the ragged pain of a sob as it climbed up my throat and seized in my chest.“You did that, darling.” He murmured, flexing his arms around my torso. There was the smallest fraction of pain as he held me closer, but it was a reminder that we were alive—both of us. His husky laughter tic