The sunrise was a jagged line of gold cutting through the mist when I stepped out of my room. I hadn’t slept well. My wolf had been restless, pacing the tether of the Bond, unsettled by the sudden wall Tess had reconstructed between us.
The evening had started with such promise. In the elevator, she’d been electric. Defiant? Yes, but present. Then, over the takeout Leon had brought, she’d gone cold. Her answers were clipped, her gaze never quite met mine, and she’d retreated to the east wing the second the last container was closed.
Was it Leon? I’d wondered as I fastened the last button on my shirt. Maybe the presence of my Beta in our private space had reminded her too much of the Pack she was trying to audit out of her life. Or perhaps it was just an adrenaline crash. She’d spent th
