Dane’s POV
The echo of her heartbeat hadn’t left my head.
Even now, standing on the terrace of the northern wing, I could still hear it — soft, uneven, like a trembling drum beneath fragile ribs. It wasn’t just a sound. It was a pull. A damn chain that wrapped itself around my chest and refused to let go.
I gritted my teeth, staring into the forest beyond the walls of Shadowfang Manor. The trees swayed under the pale morning light, their leaves whispering like ghosts.
My wolves patrolled somewhere out there, unaware that their Alpha stood here, haunted by a woman who should’ve been nothing more than a transaction.
But she wasn’t.
Donna.
Even her name burned on my tongue like forbidden wine.
When I had seen her collapse at the auction — body limp, skin marred with bruises, spirit c
