Leo’s POV
The moment Connor left, the shadows in my chest clawed for release, threatening to rip through the thin veil of control I maintained. My wolf howled inside me, furious that another Alpha—a lesser wolf—had dared to touch her, dared to even think she was his. Ivy. My flower.
She stood before me now, her eyes searching mine, uncertain but curious. Her soft voice whispered, “Leo?” as though afraid I might vanish.
I couldn’t vanish, even if I wanted to. She was the rope that held me in this broken world, the prophecy-made-flesh I had waited decades for. My fingers tightened around her waist before I lost my nerve. I pulled her against me, feeling her body mold perfectly to mine, as if carved for this moment.
My chest still burned with Connor’s words. Mate. How dare he? The word me
