The power kept building. Not fading. Not settling. Growing stronger with every heartbeat.
I gasped, dropping to one knee as the force of it threatened to tear me apart from the inside. My wolf wasn't just stirring anymore. She was rising, demanding to be heard, to be seen, to be acknowledged.
"Elara!" Darius was beside me instantly, his hands on my shoulders. "Look at me. Focus."
I couldn't. The world had narrowed to sensation. The bond between us burned bright, a living thing that connected our wolves with threads of gold. Through it, I felt his strength pouring into me. Not just physical power. Something deeper.
His wolf recognizing mine as equal.
"Breathe," he commanded. "Control it. Don't let it control you."
I forced air into my lungs. Once. Twice. On the third breath, something
