Maeve’s POV
The wind bit at my cheeks as I climbed the hill behind the Alpha’s estate, the moon casting shadows long and cruel across the forest.
I hadn’t meant to come here tonight. I told myself I wouldn’t. After everything Ingrid said at the council estate, after the way Kael looked through me like I was no more than a passing thought, I swore I would walk away.
But my legs had other plans.
Or maybe it was the bond.
That cursed, aching thing that tethered me to a man who refused to choose me in the light.
I wasn’t going to cry. Not again.
The guards barely looked twice when I approached the mansion. By now, I was a familiar face, even if Kael pretended I wasn’t.
I slipped through the hallways like a shadow, turning left instead of right, avoiding the path to his study.
I knew
