MAYA
I knew how the Obsidian Throne functioned, and I damn well knew Kael would not be there to chase me down, let alone beg me to stay.
He would cull anything that would give him a bad name, and I, as a tarnished, wolfless reject, was nothing but a liability. If the world knew that I was his mate, they'd go against his control, perhaps even launch a rebellion.
Keeping distance was my only shield, and the human world was a place of safety and of freedom from the werewolf laws that swallowed me. There, I could disappear.
I was up all night. A part of me was waiting for Kael to show up. That same part of me longed for one final meeting, a chance to make him remember what he had lost. I hoped he’d be angry when he discovered I wasn’t there.
But as midnight came and went, it was clear h
