The morning came softly—not with the harsh light of judgment, but with the hazy gold of a secret shared. I woke to the rustling of fabric and the subtle creak of old wood as Kael shifted beside me. We hadn’t meant to fall asleep—especially not like that, tangled together in the dark—but when I opened my eyes and saw him still there, his lashes fanned across his cheek, the rise and fall of his chest steady and slow, I didn’t regret a thing.
For a moment, I just watched him. The boy who was a prince. The wolf who had chosen me.
I slipped from his side as quietly as I could and padded over to the tiny mirror above the cracked sink. My reflection stared back, pale and worn, but steadier than I’d looked in months. The bond between us hadn’t settled yet, but I could feel it—like a thread of si
