ng the kind of warmth every child dreamed of receiving from their fa

id, her tone sharp, her eyes flickering in

No matter what I said, no matter how I behaved, she always found a way

ning to me. "I will talk to you later.

e one who was supposed to protect me, to guide me, to value me as family,

t to let my face betray the storm ragi

the room like a shadow, and walked away wi

What was it he had wanted to tell me before Helen interrupted? Could it have been something

ent, almost too silent, and the stillness pressed against my chest until it was har

couldn't I have a father who put me

temples. Maybe that w

me wish I could just disappear. Maybe I could run away, like Helen's mother had don

nto a servant within her own home. The rumors claimed it was because she and Alpha Johnson were not true mates he had chosen

that it was doomed from the beginning, beca

art over, to escape the suffocating life she had fallen into. But Alpha Johnson

. he ador

e could bend mountains just to see her smile. That girl, who wore c

the elders, men who had lived through blood and war, bowed at his word. His dominance was unmatched, h

n my chest

broke my thoughts. The sound jol

tly, pulling the blan

small comfort. But behind her was someone else. A tall figure stepped into the

kin carried a resemblance to my own, his curly short hair neat, his jaw strong. He was well

hroat. My jaw dropped be

.. brea

something else. Something deep in my veins stirred, a r

you doing, Nora?" His voice was deep, steady, the

e. "I'm... getting better.

ld you about, the one who brought you in yesterday.

into a small smile. "Thank you... Thank you so much for saving me.

were so unconscious, I thought you had died." His tone was p

lse, something unexpla

," he said, stretc

, then placed my hand in

veins. It wasn't the tingling spark of a mate bond that the elders often des

my blood itself

ction, but Ellia's eyes narrowed s

ween us, leaving me breathless. My heart r

was

nough to know how a mate bond felt desire, passion, ye

fam

rling. Why did this stranger, this warrior

dying me with unreadable e

asked, my voice lo

, silence hung

didn't reach his eyes. "Nothing.

oment that spark lingered in m

this wasn't the end. Whateve

as b