Elle POV
Heat.
It crawled beneath my skin like something alive, something feral—something that wasn’t entirely me. My body burned from the inside out, every pulse too loud, too fast, too hungry. My breath shook, catching on a sound I couldn’t hold back.
And through it all, one name lived at the edge of every thought:
Blake.
My wolf—newborn, disoriented, and suddenly loud—paced inside me like a storm of gold light.
He’s ours. Call him. Tell him to take you. Tell him—
No, I whispered back in my mind. I can’t. He’s a dragon. Royal. Dragons don’t take wolves as mates. It is forbidden.
My wolf only growled.
Forbidden has never stopped destiny.
My wrists ached from the restraints, skin sensitive from the fever crawling across me. Every breath felt like fire. Every brush of air sent a
