(Apollo & Adelaide)
Her thoughts fractured: Cael. The hands that steadied her. The water on her lips. The one moment of mercy in a place built entirely on suffering. She couldn’t give that away. Not even under pain. Not even under him.
His pleasure soured. The sourness lingered, sharp and metallic at the back of his throat. It tasted too much like recognition. Like the knowledge that pain could command a body, but kindness—however small—could begin to claim something quieter and far more dangerous. Heat seethed beneath his skin.
Her breath hitched. The bond quivered. His jealousy detonated.
His hand snapped to her throat, claws curving possessively around her neck as his tail stilled inside her.
His voice dropped into a low, lethal growl. “If he means nothing,” he snarled, the que
