Chapter 21

Gideon’s POVThe silence that followed Tanya’s frantic escape back to the cabin was heavy, thick with the scent of damp earth and the lingering, sweet fragrance of her hair. My eyes were still fixed on the corner of the house where she had disappeared. Even though she was gone, I could still feel the phantom heat of her gaze on my skin. She was vibrating with enough nervous energy to power a small city, and honestly? I couldn’t blame her.I stayed where I was, leaning against the silver birch, letting the forest air cool the fire in my lungs. My heart, which had been hammering against my ribs since I stepped onto this property, finally began to slow its frantic rhythm."She's a handful," Max said, his voice cutting through the stillness.I looked over at him. He was watching me with a look that was entirely too sharp for a guy who was just supposed to be a 'gym buddy' from a summer camp. He had his arms crossed over his chest, his posture relaxed, but his eyes were scanning me like h

Chapter 22

Gideon’s POVThe air out there in the clearing got thick all of a sudden, like it was pressing down on my chest and making it hard to breathe. I just stood there, boots sinking into the moss, staring at Max. He was waiting, arms loose at his sides, eyes locked on me like he already knew something was off.I almost said it. Right there. The whole mess. That his sister was my fated mate, that my mother was out there somewhere hunting her like she was nothing but a trophy to hang on the wall, that I’d been losing my mind for the last day straight, heart racing every second I wasn’t with Tanya.But the second I opened my mouth, it all jammed up. Like my throat just slammed shut on its own. I looked at him then, really looked. That old sweater with the holes at the elbows. The rough hands from all those double shifts just to keep the lights on in this tiny cabin. Telling him would drag him straight into something he couldn’t fight. Put a bullseye on his back, too. No way.So the words chan

Chapter 23

GIDEON’S POVThe drive back from the neutral woods felt like I was racing something I couldn’t even see. Tires kicking up gravel, engine screaming under me like it was pissed off too. Every mile I put between me and that cabin ripped at something inside my chest. I kept seeing Tanya’s face in my head, all pale and shocked and buzzing with that same electric thing that always crackled between us.I pulled up to the big iron gates of the Hemisphere estate right at 9:55. The guards didn’t even bother checking who I was. Just buzzed me through with that heavy clunk of metal sliding open. I swung the car into the driveway crooked as hell, didn’t even straighten it out. Had to pull myself together fast. Be the Prince again. I grabbed the damp cloth from the glove box, wiped my face, scrubbed the dirt out from under my nails, and shrugged on the clean blazer I’d left balled up in the back seat.The mansion just sat there staring at me, all glass and black marble and years of cold history pil

Chapter 24

Tanya’s POVThe Great Hall was dead quiet. Like the air had turned thick and was sitting right on my chest, making it hard to pull in even one decent breath. I kept staring at that long mahogany table, at Luna Victoria’s icy silver eyes, and all those old elders with their wrinkly faces looking down on me like I was dirt. Then my eyes landed on Gideon.He was standing way too close. I could feel the warmth coming off him, that stupid pull that always tried to convince my stupid heart we belonged together. But we didn’t. This whole room, with its gold ceilings and ancient pack politics, made that crystal clear.“Is that true, Tanya?” Victoria asked again, her voice smooth but sharp enough to cut.I couldn’t answer. If I said yes, I was basically handing her a loaded gun to use on me for the rest of my life. If I said no, I’d be lying through my teeth, and the lie would probably choke me right there. So I did the only thing my body would let me do. I ran.My sneakers squeaked loudly on

Chapter 25

Tanya’s POVThe whole drive back to Moonstone College felt like somebody was marching me straight back to a cell. The car smelled like old coffee and fake pine air freshener, and every mile marker made my stomach twist a little tighter. Home wasn’t home anymore after that mess at the Hemisphere place. And school? Yeah, it didn’t feel safe either. It just felt like a bigger cage where everybody was waiting for me to screw up so they could point and laugh.Max hadn’t said much before I left. He knew I was full of it about that “walk,” I could tell by the way he kept watching me pack. Like he was trying to memorize my face in case I never came back. It hurt, but I couldn’t dump any of this on him. Not yet. Not ever if I could help it.I stood in my dorm room and just breathed in the smell of floor wax and old books for a second. It should’ve felt normal. It didn’t. The quiet was too loud, like the walls were listening. I dumped my duffel on the bed and started ripping clothes out, shovin

Chapter 26

Tanya’s POVMonday hit me like a slap of cold water straight to the face. I hadn’t slept at all. Every time I shut my eyes I heard that thud of Gideon hitting the gravel, or I pictured Lara with her ear smashed against the wall next door, listening for any little sound I made. Going back to classes was supposed to fix everything, like some reset button, but the second I walked into Advanced Pack History, the air felt thick enough to choke on.I kept my head down and slid into a middle row between Jess and Gina. My notebook came out, the pen shaking a little when I clicked it open. I kept telling myself I didn’t care. That chapter was closed, burned, gone. The Prince of Moonstone was yesterday’s news.But my stupid eyes wouldn’t listen.Every time those big oak doors at the back creaked, my head jerked up. I scanned the back rows, the fancy seats up front, the aisles, hunting for dark hair or those shoulders I knew way too well.He wasn’t there.“Tanya, stop,” Gina hissed, leaning over