POV: Nixie
The chill in my veins beat like a second heart, slow and measured, a stranger's rhythm. Every pulse chilled me to the bone, as if the touch of the Nightborn leader remained under my skin.
Hunter was beside me, his gold eyes darting to the shadowy forest beyond. "We have to go," he said. "Now."
I pulled myself to my feet, shaking off the shiver that rasped over my body. The bite hurt, a fire that was pain and yet something more—it was welcome. My wolf snarled at it, pacing in my mind, claws marking mental walls. Mine, she snarled. Not theirs.
Vlad sat near, scanning the border of the forest. "The Nightborn won't return tonight. They got what they came for."
"What did they want?" My words snapped out harder than I'd meant. "He said I'm his."
Vlad's eyes flicked to mine, neut
