KATHERINE POV
The moment I stepped into the room and saw Keegan sitting shirtless on the hospital bed, alive, breathing, scowling like the stubborn bastard he was—I nearly marked him with my fire here and there.
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
Instead, I exhaled slowly and let the last sliver of restraint inside me burn away.
He was mine.
Mine.
And I’d nearly lost him.
The bond had been whispering to me for days, sinking its claws into my soul, but I kept fighting it. Telling myself I needed control, distance, time.
But watching Keegan unconscious, pale and still in that cratered battlefield—they might as well have ripped my heart out of my chest.
Now, I didn’t give a damn about hiding anymore. As soon as I was sure he was fine, I was going to mark every single one of them. I didn’t care w
