Kora’s POV
For hours after that night, I couldn’t look at Edward without feeling that deep, gut-twisting guilt. The way his light had dimmed after our training—it haunted me. His mark still glowed faintly, like a candle fighting the wind, but I could tell something wasn’t right.
He kept pretending everything was fine, brushing off my questions with his usual calm voice. But I saw the truth every time he touched me. His hand would linger a second longer than usual, his thumb tracing my wrist as if making sure I was real. And every time he kissed my forehead before bed, I could feel it—the faint hesitation in him.
He was scared.
Not of me exactly, but of what was growing inside me.
And honestly… I was too.
I didn’t sleep that night. I sat near the window, watching the forest sway under
