Nyx's POV
The mate bond flared so hot I nearly gasped.
Whatever this is between us, it's real. And I'm going to prove it to you.
His words hung between us and my whole body responded before my mind could catch up. Heat pooled low in my stomach while my wolf pressed against my skin and urged me to close the distance between us and claim what was ours.
But he'd killed my father. He'd stood over my family and destroyed everything I loved.
I opened my mouth to tell him that proving something didn't undo blood, that the bond could burn as hot as it wanted and it still wouldn't change what he'd done.
"Warrick?"
Diane's voice cut through the moment before I could speak.
She stood in the castle doorway with one hand pressed to her chest and her blonde hair catching the afternoon light. Her
