LEAH
The trees thicken as we drive deeper into the forest, winding past branches clawing at the windows like old fingers. I sit beside Lucian in the back of the sleek, black limo, staring out into the blur of green and gray.
My thoughts keep circling back to days before. To the way he looked at me, and to the things he finally said about his ex-mate, Elara. What he said about how she broke him, and how he’s scared I’ll do the same.
I should feel wounded, insulted, maybe. But I don’t, not really. I know what fear looks like in a man like him who’s used to blood and war, not softness. What he gave me today wasn’t a wound, it was a wound opening. He trusted me enough to let me see what bleeds inside him.
And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I’m not afraid of his s
