Maeve.
The bond screamed louder and louder, every pulse like claws dragging through my chest. I dropped to my knees, clutching my stomach, gasping for air.
It was me.
The thought wouldn’t leave me. The whisper of the bond, the weight of it, burned me alive.
Alia crouched in front of me, her violet eyes gleaming with cruel amusement. “Do you feel it now? He cannot tell. He never could. The beast does not know his mate from his shadow. You bleed because his claws do not care whose flesh they tear.”
My head snapped up, silver fire burning in my hands. “You lie!”
Her smile curved, calm, mocking. “Do I? Or do you already doubt him? Do you already wonder if his heart knows you as well as his body?”
My chest heaved, my tears blurring. “I know him. I know his soul. He would never—”
She cut
