The snow kept falling.
Soft.
Relentless.
Silent.
Aisha stood in front of Callen, her breath fogging the air between them, tears still clinging to her lashes.
His words echoed in the space around them—someone made you believe you deserved this—and something inside her chest ached at the truth of it.
Callen’s control was fraying.
He could feel it—feel the bond tightening, pulling, demanding. Her pain thrummed through his veins like a living thing, igniting something old and dangerous beneath his skin.
His hands curled slowly into fists at his sides as his breathing deepened.
And then—
For just a moment—
He lost control.
His eyes flashed golden.
Not subtly.
Not imagined.
Bright, molten gold cutting through the dark like moonlight breaking cloud cover.
Aisha’s breath caught
