KATHERINE
I sat on the edge of my bed back at the castle, but I couldn't keep my hands still. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt it again, the rough, wet heat of Stephen’s tongue dragging across my skin. It was a simple act of healing, something Alphas did for their mates or their pack, but it didn't feel simple to me. It felt like he had claimed that patch of skin, like he had tasted my pain and swallowed it whole, and it made my stomach flip in a way that had nothing to do with fear. I looked down at my forearm where the gash had been, but the skin was perfectly smooth, not even a faint pink line remained to show where I’d sliced myself open. I was supposed to be planning his downfall, I was supposed to be thinking about how to get those photos of the underground cages to the press, b
