I still remembered the cold before I remembered the pain. Not the clean chill of night air—but the kind that seeped into bone, heavy and suffocating, dragging me down until even breathing felt like work. I had been walking for hours after crossing the border. Maybe days. Time had blurred into a haze of hunger, thirst, and the relentless ache in my chest where the bond had been torn but not severed. Every step felt borrowed. I remember stumbling near a stream, my reflection warped in the dark water. Pale. Hollow-eyed. A stranger wearing the ruin of a ceremonial dress. I remember thinking, So this is how it ends. My knees gave out shortly after. I hit the ground hard, breath knocked from my lungs, fingers digging weakly into damp earth. My wolf stirred faintly—too exhausted to shift, too wounded to protect me. Get up, I told myself. I didn’t. The pain surged again, sharper than before, ripping through me like punishment for daring to survive Lucien’s rejection. I cried out, th
Last Updated : 2026-02-22 Read more