Nyx's POV
"The bond means nothing to me." Each word was deliberate, designed to cut. "You could press yourself against me every night and beg me to comfort you and it wouldn't change a single thing. You're still my prisoner, your pack still dies if you lie to me, and your terror, real or fake, doesn't move me at all."
He grabbed weapons from the wall and buckled them on with mechanical efficiency. "Get dressed. We have work to do."
"Now?" My voice was still shaking. "It's barely dawn."
"Now." He didn't look at me. "Unless you need more time to cry and tremble and try to manipulate me with those big, terrified eyes."
The words landed like blows.
I stood on unsteady legs and moved to the privacy screen, my whole body still trembling from shame as much as fear. He thought I'd faked it,
