The power she’d unleashed in the forest did not fade when the light disappeared. It lingered beneath Lena’s skin like embers beneath ash—quiet, but ready to ignite. By nightfall, the mate bond had shifted again. It no longer pulsed in gentle waves. It throbbed. Persistent. Demanding. Every time Dylan stepped within a few feet of her, heat crawled across her nerves like lightning searching for ground.
The pack could feel it too. Conversations lowered when they entered a space together. Wolves avoided standing directly between them. Instinct recognized what neither of them had yet spoken aloud.
The bond was escalating.
Lena stood on the balcony outside her room, cool night air brushing against overheated skin. The moon hung swollen and bright above the treetops, silver light pooling acros
