I woke to the scent of pine smoke, Wolf’s Bane wards, and Chase’s heartbeat hammering against my ear.
His arms were wrapped around me tightly, protectively, as if he feared that letting go would cause me to vanish. For a long moment, I didn’t speak—I simply lay there, staring at the faint glow still clinging to my skin like dew after a storm.
The mate bond.
It wasn’t a dream.
It wasn’t wishful thinking.
It was real.
Living.
Breathing.
Threaded between his soul and mine.
When I finally lifted my head, Chase was already awake. His golden eyes were clearer than I had ever seen them—shocked, yes, but also full of something fierce and unyielding. Something that belonged to me now.
“Isla,” he whispered, brushing hair from my forehead, “you scared me half to death.”
I tried to sit, sti
