ital, Mira sat on the window seat in the

th her own hands, the ones Adrian had put in the ground the year he proposed

er fingers. There us

tanding behind her in the kitchen, his chin hooked over her shoulder, both of them fumbling with a cake fr

it. Soft. Careful. Like he wa

pering in anothe

creen went dark, and his sm

f to focus-to find a way to break the blood vow, to prove to ev

ast came flooding back whether she wanted it or not. The fragile thread of the m

way below. A car door slammed.

didn'

stairs, to the bedroom door-where he paused. A

used to

warm lamp. No sound of her crossing the floor to meet him. She was perched on the windo

still

ice was flat, more st

Do you have any idea how long I waited at the hospital today? The doctors said my recovery w

d be-dark circles carved beneath his eyes, his cheekbones sharper than befor

rode toward her, his pace impatient. "I'

ll. Her bare toes touched the cold

o see Ivy a

up. She needed a

her gaze to meet his. "Alpha, you are the Alph

edge of the bed, his tall frame cutting the

gating me?" His

ou a very sim

g in his temper. "She's alone out there. No family.

opped to think th

at-short enough that she could almo

nd reached for her-those long, familiar fingers that had once traced slow circles on her back t

d, oblivious to her tension. "You're my wife. You

ing a sulking child. Not a love

e had once depended on it to pull her out of nightmares. Now it

ll her his mate a

m. He rose, closed the gap, leaned in until his b

art cl

ot I'm sorry. Not

eed

t the ache of a blood vow left cold. He wasn't here because he had reali

er lip, blind to the tears gathering in her eyes

didn't

against his chest

a. My patience has limits. You c

ting tide. Before she could move, he had her pinned to the bed, his weight

," he growled. "That

had married? The one who had waited three ye

someone who saw her body as hi

go. He knew she had lost her mother, lost her sense of s

They had spent three years building that trust. An

breath came in shallow, desperate ga

ember reaching

the crack of cerami

ood streaming down his temple. "Wha

Didn't check how ba

the room. Her fingers tore the worn blanket from the armchair and wrapped it around he

le body

e. His wolf

p, sour terror flooding off her skin. The bond be

c at

ai

ised one bloodied

cracked, splintered,

ss Adrian's face. Not quite guilt. Not

down at her-curled in the corner, wrapped

w tigh

ow. Exhausted. Done. "I am your Alpha. You have to move past

d the do

the las

icked shut

lutching the blanket to her ches

ried somewhere in the dark-not because the pain had faded,

hone

, vision blurry. It was a

blood vow. But the petition must be fi

you sure to