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"I'd had no idea how hard his life had been —" I added a drizzle of oil to the pot, then the seasoned meat and chopped onion. "Turned out, we had a lot more in common than I'd thought. Lynn forced me to go back every day for a while, and it … well, it kinda became a habit."

At the wolf stronghold, he'd been so insistent the wolf was part of me and that I should let the past go and just accept it. Perhaps, if he'd been around, this whole mess with Frexin would have turned out differently…

My throat tightened, and I forced myself to continue. "When he was better, we didn't see each other as much, but" — the meat sizzled, and I paused to stir it — "when I needed to talk, he was who I went to. He and Lynn were the closest things I had to family after my mentor was killed years earlier."

There. That had to be enough to satisfy her. Right?

I stared into the pot, watching the meat turn from pink to red to brown — looking everywhereexceptKaiya.

She'd said little since I started talking.What if I'd bored her? Or worse — what if talking about Jaiel had made her pain worse?

I risked a glance in her direction and froze …

She'd moved closer, those hazel eyes wide with some strange emotion that made my heart beat faster.

"What?" I asked, turning back to the stew, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"For one, I had no idea you two were so close. And two — that's like a fucking record. I wasn't sure you couldsaythat many words in a row!"

"Well," I growled. "That's the last time you'll ever hear it, Witch."

"No, no!" she said, grabbing my arm.

I turned to snap at her, but her smile stopped me.

"I loved it. I — I don't know much about you, and it was nice to hear something so … real. I'd love to hear more, if you're willing." She tilted her head to the side. "Please?"

Her eyes were warm and genuine — and I felt like I'd been punched in the heart.

Swallowing, I turned back to the stew, adding the water and vegetables, trying to ignore the warmth of her hands on my arm through the shirt … and the way she'd sounded as she said shelovedhearing aboutme.

Me!

Wassomething more possible? Perhaps after we were both free, we could —

I squeezed the ladle until it groaned and forced myself to hold the thoughts back. The tattoos had only been working for one day. It was too soon to start making plans.

"I —" I swallowed. "Is the tea about ready?"

"Oh." She cleared her throat. "Uh — yes. I'll get it going."

Disappointment was heavy in her voice, and I turned to watch her work, chest aching.

She filled the little kettle with water, then dropped a tea bag into each cup she'd placed on the little table. Carrying the kettle to the stove, she placed it beside the pot, then took a seat at the table.

She stared down at her cup with a tea bag but no water, frown tenting her brows.

"So, ah." I swallowed awkwardly. "When did you fall in love with him?"

Kaiya inhaled sharply, gaze flying to mine as color rose on her cheeks. "I'm not —"She swallowed. "We're not. I mean, it's not like there'snothingthere, but we haven't exactly —hells …"

I barely suppressed a smile. Her cheeks were a bright red, and she looked at every spot around the room but at me.

So, she wasn't sure of her feelings for the Fae prince yet …

If I was a better man, I would encourage the two of them. But kings alive — that was thelastthing I wanted to do.

Fuck! Somehow, in the past months, she'd grown to matter to me in ways I hadn't expected. And now, with the wolf silenced, I could finally tell whatIfelt — whatIwanted …