Damian's POV
Mate.
The word didn't surface. It detonated. A depth charge buried in the marrow of my bones, ripping through every wall I'd ever built.
And my wolf, that cold, calculating beast I'd kept leashed since adolescence, the one who spoke only in clipped tactical assessments and never once raised his voice, was roaring.
Not a warning. A declaration. Vast, absolute, and so violent it dismantled the architecture of my skull from the inside out. I felt my entire nervous system rewiring in real time.
My heart slammed against my ribs like a battering ram. Kate's skin was ice against my forearm, but her scent, a delicate, intoxicating sweetness like jasmine after rain, erupted through my senses and obliterated everything else in the room. My vision bled gold. I pulled her tighter aga
