The cold was biting—shards of ice and wind stung my face as the snow beneath my boots crunched, each step echoing through the empty woods. But it wasn’t the cold that had my heart racing; it was the sound of their footsteps—crunching too, but with purpose. They were closing in.
I looked over at Ryker, his face tense, his usual arrogance replaced with something darker, something more primal. We were outnumbered, and I knew it.
“They’ll come for us,” I said, my voice a low growl. The bond between us pulsed, my heartbeat in sync with his, a constant reminder of how deep this was—this connection neither of us had asked for.
“I’m not afraid,” he replied, his voice steady, but his eyes betrayed the flicker of doubt. He was a warrior—an Alpha. But facing my old comrades, those I once called fa
