Kael’s POV
Ayla doesn't move when I say her name — not even when the bond pulls between us, alive and restless, demanding.
She just stands there, perfectly still, silent, watching us with a fierce glare.
For years, I thought her silence meant nothing—that it made her small, easy to ignore, easy to push around.
I was wrong.
There’s nothing small about the way she looks at me now. Her silver eyes don’t drop. They don’t flinch away like they used to. They hold mine—steady, sharp, painfully aware. And for the first time, I understand what we turned her into—not a weak, invisible, or pathetic mate, but someone who learned to endure us and outlast us.
The realization settles like a stone, but I don't let it show. I can't lose control now, not when everything is balanced on the decision sh
