Malric’s Pov
I don't move. We simply hold each other with the stupid, animal silence that screams louder than any battle cry.
Delilah stands as if the motion could break the tension. She folds her arms like a shield and says, "I have other things to do than talk to you."
Meaning what? I demand without asking.
She smiles, slow and poisonous. "Meaning maybe I should go to your son. Maybe I should bond with him. Maybe he'll love me because you don’t."
Something colder than anger uncoils inside me. I step forward until the space between us is nothing.
I catch her chin with one hand roughly, and she doesn't pull away. "Don't you dare," I say. "Don't you dare speak to me like that."
Her laugh is soft. It makes the world tilt. I don't care. I crush my mouth to hers.
The mate-bond flares,
