I adjusted my collar for the third time in the rearview mirror, Leon rumbling with amusement in the back of my mind. The car's engine purred beneath me, a mechanical echo of my Lycan's contentment. Ten minutes early – not desperate, I told myself, just punctual. The Golden Compass Hotel rose before me like a gleaming sentinel, its white marble facade catching the morning light, golden inlays tracing patterns that seemed to point directly to her. I hadn't slept, couldn't sleep, my mind replaying our dance beneath the stars, the scent of her still clinging to my memory like the last notes of a symphony.
*Nervous?* Leon's voice was a warm whisper in my thoughts, tinged with uncharacteristic gentleness.
"Shut up," I muttered, smiling despite myself. "We've negotiated peace treaties and faced
