Catherine’s POV
The night was heavy with silence, the kind that seemed to listen. My footsteps were barely more than whispers against the forest floor, every crunch of leaves threatening to betray me. My chest burned, but I kept going, pushing deeper into the woods, deeper into shadows, chasing the fragile hope that Lucian was out there—that maybe I could reach him before it was too late.
The bond tugged at me like chains, angry and unrelenting. It knew I was trying to run, and it hated me for it.
I clutched my cloak tighter around me, forcing air into my lungs. Faster, Catherine. Faster.
But then I felt it.
That pull. That weight. That searing heat crawling across my skin.
He was behind me.
Stephen.
The hairs on my neck prickled. My pulse raced, betraying me before I could even th
