The leash was gone, but the collar stayed.
A strip of black leather, warm from my skin, tight enough to remind me who I belonged to—without ever needing chains.
Kael had made his point.
The pack had watched me kneel. Submit. Not because I loved him. Not even because I’d broken.
But because, in that moment, there was no other choice.
And Kael?
He’d looked down at me like I was his everything.
That night, he didn’t take me roughly.
There was no claiming in the circle. No humiliation in front of his wolves. No punishments or lessons.
All he did was take me back to his cave, lay me down on the bed, and squeeze in behind me.
He wrapped his arms around my waist. His body curled behind mine. His chest pressed into my back, legs tangling with mine, skin to skin.
I waited for the usual
