The dawn broke over the pack grounds, pale and trembling, casting long shadows between the trees. Evelyn stirred beneath a thin blanket in her small quarters, every muscle aching from yesterday’s ordeal. The memory of the vampire, the explosion of blue light, and the overwhelming presence of her hidden power left her trembling, both from exhaustion and fear.
She had survived, but the bond thrummed violently in her chest, and she could feel Lucien’s tension through every pulse, every invisible thread of connection between them. His emotions — anger, possessiveness, and worry — pressed against her like a physical weight, and for the first time, Evelyn truly understood the danger of the mate bond.
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Lucien’s footsteps approached, deliberate, controlled, his shadow long across the wooden
