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He gave me a tired smile. "Yes, well, I'd like to believe that, but I stillfeellike I'm indebted to you, and I don't think either of us want that. So, here's a little tip to make things clean and even."

"I don't want anything from you."

"Well, that's too bad." He scowled. "Just — don't count on those tattoos to save you. They probably won't work, and it's dangerous to test the mate bond like that."

My skin prickled, and a growl rumbled low in mychest. Was that it? Did he hear the tattoos weren't working as expected and think I needed to know that?

"Great. Thanks for the tip. But the tattoos are working just fine," I said, keeping my expression neutral. "That it?"

Japhire's brow rose. "You can keep lying to yourself, if you want, but we both know better. You're barely holding your shit together."

He was straining the last of my nerves. "Are you calling me — or better yet,Frexin —a liar?"

"Not at all," he sighed. "I'm just saying that the Reaper doesn't know how strong the mate bond can be. I think at best she'shopingthe tattoos will work more than actuallyknowingthey will. And at worst, you're nothing more than her newest experiment —"

"You don't know what you're talking about," I growled.

"Maybe." Japhire's thin lips curled into a smirk. "But, if so — why did Frexin order someone to watch you for signs of turning feral? Does that sound like something she'd do if she was confident in her plan?"

A chill went down my spine.

Watched? Feral?

Body mages going feral was just an old legend … a story told to children like those of demons, saints, and the seven hells.

But the words stirred up memories of times when I'd been sent to capture body mages who'd gone mad … and the loved ones left broken in their wake. Body mages without the scent of corruption — yet they'd lost their minds to their animal sides — an animal trapped in a human body.

And when I'd collared them, they didn't just lose access to their magic like the others. Instead, the collar made them go completely catatonic.

I'd assumed the collar just affected everyone differently. But could they have been goingferal?

My stomach knotted.

"From that look on your face, I see you know what I am talking about," Japhire said. "Going feral on the Isle is rare, as we celebrate finding our mates and embrace the bond. But on the mainland, body mages hide in the shadows — no family, no friends … no mates. Many go feral. And if you don't complete your bond, it will take you too." He let out a breath, then shrugged. "Then again, maybe you're right. Maybe the Reaper has figured out how to tame our primal nature — something as old and unyielding as the rising of the moons."

"Enough!" I snapped. "Why are you really here? What's your game?"

"Game?" Japhire's eyes looked predatory as he stepped closer. "I might be a bastard and a traitor, but I'm not a liar, pup. Someday soon, Frexin will order me to kill you, and I can't have anything like blood debts hanging over my head when I do it. Especially when your pretty little woman is left behind without a mate. That scent of hers is very alluring. Sunshine. Stone —"

I had my hands around his throat before he could say another word, his pulse throbbing beneath my fingers.

My hands tightened around his throat, and IknewI could snap his neck right there if I let the wolf free.

But I was not the wolf.

I was Lieutenant Fordyth. Fucking Empire Agent … and ward of King Wendyr … before he disappeared.

Still, I was using all my strength to keep the wolf from breaking the man's neck.

Japhire just smiled, holding my gaze as though he knew what I was thinking — not an ounce of fear in his eyes.

"When the Reaper approached me," he rasped, still smiling. "She promised to do things my father could not, like stop the mountain wraiths. And the only cost? A little servitude, and a few proud wolves getting their comeuppance."

Alarmed by his strange reaction, I opened my hand to drop him, but Japhire grabbed my wrists with both hands and leaned closer.

"It sounded too good to be true. But I believed her," he hissed, breath bathing my face in rank heat. "I believed she would truly save those I cared about. But she had a radically different idea of what 'saving' meant. So, here's some better advice, pup — whatever you end up doing, make sure you can live with yourself when it's all said and done."

I barely heard his words.If he wouldn't let go, then I'dmake him.I tightened my hands around his neck until his eyes began to bulge.