KADE’S POV
Sweat soaked my jacket as I stood in Crescent Moon’s courtyard, my boots planted firmly on the gravel, the castle’s stone towers looming behind me, sunlight glinting off their windows. Ryker faced the entrance, his shoulders hunched, his hands fisted, his black tunic clinging damp to his back. Selenea’s voice still echoed—sharp, raw, claiming she didn’t know him, her eyes blazing with a lie I’d seen through, her flinch betraying hate buried deep. Lukas had barred him, Callan’s growl backing her, and now we’d been told to leave, the air thick with their dismissal.
I grabbed Ryker’s arm, my fingers digging through leather, my voice low and hard. “Let’s get the hell away from here,” I said, my boots scuffing dirt, tugging him toward the car, its black frame glinting, engine hummi
