NORA
The bargain!
I’d always known Cardan wasn’t a man easily broken…
Not by war.
Not by betrayal.
And certainly not by dreams.
But lately, something in his eyes had changed.
It was subtle at first — the distant glances, the restless pacing, the way his hands clenched into fists for no reason. Then came the way he snapped at his guards, at Kai, even at the maids. I’d seen it before, in soldiers who’d returned from battle haunted by the things they couldn’t unsee.
Only this wasn’t war…
This was something else.
And I had an idea what… or rather, who… it was.
But I wasn’t stupid. You don’t waltz into a room and declare you know the Alpha’s deepest torment without first testing the waters. So I started with Kai.
It was late. The sun had dipped below the treeline, casting the traini
