The guard room was empty at 1 AM.
Kade and Ryn had the prisoner watch, but Kess was asleep, and the silence was starting to feel deliberate.
Ryn cleaned her crossbow slowly, methodically. She’d been avoiding this conversation for 36 hours.
Kade finally broke it.
“So,” he said. “Mate bond.”
Ryn didn’t look up. “So.”
“Are we pretending it’s not there?” he asked.
Ryn set the bolt down and looked at him. “I thought you were better at pretending than that.”
Kade leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “I am. But I’m tired of pretending with you.”
That got her attention.
She stood up, crossed the room, and stopped a foot away from him. Close enough that he could smell her—steel, leather, and that faint scent that was just _her_.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s talk about it. Then no mo
