Page 14

14

LANDON

T he phone rang twice before she answered.

“Landon?” Sonya’s voice was soft, breathless, like she’d been running.

Or maybe he was just projecting, considering the adrenaline tearing through his veins.

“Can you come over?” he asked.

There was a pause. “Now?”

“Yeah,” he said, sharper than he meant to.

He closed his eyes, reined it in.

“Sorry. I just—I need to talk. It’s important.”

Another pause.

Then, “Okay. I’ll head that way.”

He hung up before she could say anything else.

His heart was beating like war drums and his hands hadn’t stopped shaking since he got back from shadowing Roman’s goons.

That conversation...

the way they’d talked about Sonya, about him—it hadn’t just been a warning.

It had been a blueprint.

Landon paced across the cabin’s narrow living room, barely registering the way his boots thudded against the wood.

He replayed the words in his head, dissected the tone, the implication.

Sonya. Compromised. Grevaris.

The prophecy.

It didn’t sound like fantasy anymore.

It sounded like a death sentence.

By the time Sonya arrived, headlights cutting through the dark and scattering shadows across his porch, Landon had damn near worn a groove in the floor.

She knocked once, then let herself in like she had the last time.

She hesitated in the doorway, pale hair damp with mist, jacket clinging to her body.

Her expression was unreadable—but her eyes flicked toward his, searching.

“You okay?” she asked gently.

“No,” he said bluntly.

“Not really.”

He jerked his head toward the couch, and she followed.

The room was warm from the fire he’d stoked out of reflex, but the air between them felt brittle, like the wrong word could shatter it.

Sonya sat, slow and careful.

Landon stayed standing.

“I saw those guys,” he said.

“The ones with Roman. The ones from the trail.”

Her mouth parted slightly, a flicker of tension in her jaw.

“I followed them. Heard what they said.”

Sonya was still.

“They talked about me , Sonya.” His voice cracked.

“Talked about some prophecy. Talked about you. About how you’re too close. About how they might have to kill me anyway.”

She didn’t deny it.

Didn’t lie.

And that silence spoke louder than anything else.

Landon laughed, but it was hollow.

“You gonna say something? Or just let me keep guessing?”

Sonya really looked at him then.

And for the first time, her eyes didn’t seem like ice.

They seemed haunted.

“There’s a lot I should’ve told you,” she said, voice raw.

“And I didn’t. Because I was trying to protect you.”

“By lying to me?”

“By keeping you alive,” she snapped.

He stepped back slightly, startled at the bite in her tone.

She closed her eyes for a second, gathered herself.

“I didn’t expect this to go the way it did. Roman gave me a job. To get close to you. To see if you were the one in the prophecy. If your bloodline—Graves—linked to something ancient. Something dangerous.”

He stared at her.

“So you were spying on me.”

“I was watching you,” she said.

“At first. But it didn’t stay that simple.”

“Jesus,” he muttered, pacing again.

“So the dreams, the whispers... it’s real?”

“Yes.”

“And me? What am I? Some werewolf prince or a goddamn fire demon?”

“You’re... not just human,” she said quietly.

“Your lineage—Grevaris—was part of the original bloodlines. The ones tied to the Veil. The ones who could change everything.”

Landon’s mouth went dry.

“You’re saying I’m part wolf.”

Sonya nodded once.

He dropped onto the edge of the coffee table, face in his hands.

“This is insane.”

“I know.”

He looked up slowly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“You think I’m not scared now?”

“I know you are,” she said softly.

“But I also know you’re stronger than anyone’s given you credit for. Including me.”

Landon let out a long breath, anger giving way to something else—something heavier.

“And Roman?”

“He wants to bring you in. He says it’s to protect you. To see if you’re really tied to the prophecy. But I think...” Her voice faltered.

“I think he wants to get rid of you. Before anyone else finds out how much power you have. How much choice you have.”

Landon met her gaze, and for a moment, the anger in his chest gave way to something far more dangerous.

Trust.

“You don’t want that,” he said.

“No,” she breathed. “I want you to have a chance to choose your path. Not have it forced on you.”

They stared at each other across the space of the room, and it felt like gravity bent between them.

Sonya stood slowly, walked over, and sat beside him.

“I know I screwed up,” she whispered.

“And I wouldn’t blame you if you told me to leave. But I’m not going anywhere unless you say the words. I’ll stand between you and them as long as it takes.”

Landon studied her, every line of her face, the pain in her eyes, the strength in her jaw.

“I should tell you to leave,” he murmured.

“I should be furious.”

“Are you?”

“I don’t know what I am,” he admitted.

“Confused. Betrayed. But also... I feel like I finally know who I am.”

She didn’t speak.

And then, slowly, he reached for her hand.

“I don’t know what’s coming,” he said.

“But if I have to face it... I’d rather face it with you.”

Her fingers curled into his.

And just like that, the room wasn’t cold anymore.