Johanis' POV
I have done it. I actually chose myself. Chose to be selfish rather than letting her go.
“Stay.”
The word left my mouth like a command, but it wasn’t meant to cage her. It was meant to anchor me..
As I said, selfish.
For weeks, I convinced myself that pushing her away was protection. A public rejection. A calculated cruelty. If the bond broke, she would be safe..and that still stands because really, she is much more safer away from here. From me..
But the bond didn’t break. It refused.. And somewhere between the fire at the rink, and even with all the dangers included…I realized something far more dangerous.
I don’t want to let her go.
Selfish.
Because loving her means exposing her to everything that circles me like vultures—rival academies, pack expectations, enemies
