Rowan’s voice was cold and absolute. “I can order her execution now.”
Shanna only smiled, a knowing glint in her golden eyes. “You could,” she conceded. “But you’d be making a grave mistake.”
Rowan’s jaw tightened. “Explain.”
Shanna tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. “The bond has already been altered. Losing her won’t sever it cleanly—it will only create chaos. You remember what happened the last time I killed her, don’t you?”
Rowan stiffened, a dark memory flashing through his mind. He had gone mad. He had lost all reason. He had killed Shanna in his insanity, consumed by a wrath he couldn’t control.
“If you kill her now, there are two possibilities,” Shanna continued. “One, you’ll turn your rage onto your true mate, hating her for a bond that was never her fault.
