Page 8

Kassira

I wake up early. Bright-eyed. Clear-headed. For the first time in months, I feel like I actually slept. Like all the pieces inside of me have finally stopped rattling.

Two days since I severed the bond. Two whole days.

I still can’t believe just yesterday morning I woke up in this gilded, over-polished, too-lavish palace... with a massive lycan drooling next to me.

“ I could get used to these expensive sheets and such a big, soft bed, ” Neris sighs dreamily.

“ Same, ” I murmur, stretching like a cat. “ And the food? Stars, don’t even get me started. ”

I get ready for the day and walk to the door, humming under my breath.

I swing it open, only to have a giant idiot king come crashing in.

Literally.

Half of his massive body tumbles through the doorway, slamming flat on the floor at my feet. The back of his head smacks the stone. Hard. His eyes snap open like he’s been sucker-punched by the goddess herself.

I blink. He blinks. We just... blink at each other.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demand, staring down at him like he’s lost what little of his brain he had left.

He’s on his feet in an instant, rubbing the embarrassment off his face. His hair’s a mess. Eyes a little wild. He shakes his head a few times.

“Hello?” I snap, stepping forward. “I said I wanted my room far from yours. You remember that part of my terms, right? The ‘away from you’ part? Sleeping in front of my door was definitely not what I meant!”

He doesn’t answer.

His keeps his hands pressed over his face and then I hear him whisper.

“I forgot you.”

I freeze.

“What?”

He looks up. And gods — his expression is wrecked. Haunted. Something about it twists painfully inside my chest before I can stop it.

“I forgot you,” he says again, voice strained. “Last night... I woke up from something. A dream. A nightmare. I don’t know. I felt the bond pulling at me and I didn’t know why. I didn’t even remember who you were.”

My breath catches. He keeps going.

“Just like before,” he says quietly. “I didn’t remember you were my mate. Not until I followed the pull of the bond and arrived in front of your door.”

He presses a hand to his throat. “So I stayed. I didn’t want to forget you again.”

“I think the magic’s getting worse,” he adds. “If I spend too much time away from you, it becomes stronger.”

“That’s... disturbing,” I whisper.

Inside my head, Neris growls. “Let Draxis out. Let him chew at that leash until it snaps.”

“ You’re right, ” I murmur to her.

I lift my chin and look at Draven.

“We need to try and bring Draxis out. This morning. Now.”

His brows lift slightly. I press forward.

“We’re not wasting time. We bring Draxis out today and every day until it gets easier. Until that leash breaks. My wolf thinks he’s the answer. I do, too.”

He studies me for a moment. Then nods once, slowly.

“I think you might be right.”

I scowl at Draven’s stupidly handsome face.

He just smiles at me.

We’re deep in the West Forest, not far from the palace. It’s the perfect place for this little disaster waiting to happen. Isolated. Warded. Reinforced with spell-etched stone and layered with royal-level shielding runes. If Draxis loses control in here, he can’t hurt anyone.

Except maybe me. And Sin.

Sin’s the only one here besides us. Because no one else knows about the leash. Everyone else just thinks Draven is a late bloomer with an ancient lycan form. Very late. Very dramatic.

Draven refused to tell anyone. He’s completely paranoid. He made a whole list of suspects and slapped everyone on it. His Council. The Alpha Primes. His Gamma. Every coven of witches in the world. Even Amira. Just in case. I hate how much I liked that.

“Come on, Your Royal Pain in the Ass,” I snap, hands on my hips. “Focus. You know how to call your wings. Same thing — but this time, call the lycan.”

He sighs deeply, like I’ve just asked him to solve the meaning of life.

“We’ve been at this for over an hour. I’ve tried.

Repeatedly. Nothing.” He flings his hands up and starts pacing, all frustration and tension.

“What even brought him forward last time? The sever—” He cuts himself off, jaw clenching.

A growl vibrates from his chest. “That can’t happen again. Ever.”

I blink. Oh. Maybe he’s onto something.

I take a couple steps back, turn to the side and lift my voice. “I’m leaving! Do you hear me, Draxis? I’m walking out of this forest, out of this palace—”

Draven turns his head, brows drawing together. “You’re lying. I can hear it in your voice.”

Sin strolls closer, arms crossed. “This is painful. You’re both idiots. Figures you’re soulmates.”

That’s it! My eyes widen. I spin to face Draven directly.

“I am not your mate!” I shout at Draven. “You hear me, Draxis? I am not your mate!”

Draven growls right on cue, eyes flashing silver. Oh. Oh, this might actually work.

“I am not your mate, Draxis,” I repeat sweetly, sing-song. “Never will be again.”

He straightens. Smiles like he knows a secret. “That was a lie,” he says, smug. “I could feel it. You don’t believe that.”

“Yes, I do!” I shoot back, heat rising in my face. “ Neris? Back me up here. ”

There’s a long pause. Then my wolf sighs.

“ Well… there were some very plausible explanations… ” she mumbles.

“ Neris! ” I bark at her with my inside voice. “ Take it back! We are not falling! We have a plan. Fix the leash. Sever the bond on his end. Leave. That’s the mission. ”

She huffs. “ I know. But… he was under a spell. He didn’t reject us by choice. And if there’s even the smallest chance we could be with our true mate… is that really such a terrible thing? ”

“ I will chew your tail off, wolf, ” I threaten. “ You just want to control a massive murder monster and make him maul people for you. ”

“ I also want our mate, ” she says softly.

“ He’s our twin soul, Kass. The only one we’ll ever get.

Even if the bond’s severed, our souls are still connected.

Born together, from the same Spark. Meant to find each other.

I’m not saying jump into his arms today.

But maybe we don’t slam the door shut, either. ”

She pauses. Then adds sweetly, “ We can still torture him some more. That is fun. ”

I sigh. Dammit. Of course my wolf would fold like a piece of paper. It only took her a day and a half. She got her explanations, it all made sense and now she wants her lycan.

Typical wolf behavior.

I get it. I do. True mates are sacred in our world.

Twin souls that complete each other perfectly.

No one else can touch that kind of happiness — that kind of peace.

And sure, some shifters, very few, still accept the punishment and reject it.

Assholes with no heart or too much pride. I thought Draven was one of them.

I look at the culprit, who is currently giving me a smug, stupid smile.

I do not have time for this.

First we remove the leash. Then we see if I need to leash my own wolf before she starts howling love songs under the lycan’s window.

The bond is severed — on our side, at least. And there’s no undoing that. Severing is permanent. Final.

As that thought settles, another slams into me — I’m a genius!

I turn to Sin. He looks about as engaged as a corpse. Stifling a yawn.

Perfect.

I grab his face before he can react, palms on both cheeks, drag his head down and plant a big, wet kiss right on his lips.

His eyes go wide and not even a full second later, a thunderous growl rips through the clearing. The ground cracks. Birds flee like the apocalypse just rolled in.

Sin’s voice is a dry mutter. “I’ll never forgive you if that beast bites my head off.”

I step back and grin. “Don’t worry, bestie. I won’t let him kill you.” I pat his cheek. “Just… don’t run. He’ll chase you down and peel you like a grape.”

Sin glares at me. “I won’t forget this.”

“It’ll all be ok,” I chirp, then turn.

And there he is.

Draxis.

Massive. Towering. Drenched in shadows and rage. Black fur rippling over slabs of muscle. Wings spread wide enough to eclipse the sun. Silver eyes locked on Sin like he’s already dead. Fangs glinting. Talons twitching.

Yeah. He’s beautiful.

I move slowly toward him. Careful.

“Hello, Draxis,” I say softly. He doesn’t look at me. His gaze is still fixed on Sin — but one of his ears twitches at the sound of my voice.

“Look at me, big guy,” I coax. “It would make me very happy if you took your eyes off Sin and let him live another day.”

He finally shifts his gaze to me. Silver eyes. Burning. Blinking slow. Then — one talon lifts, points at Sin.

“Bleeeeeed,” he hisses.

Oh gods.

“Nope,” I say, sweet as honey. “No bleeding. No hurting Sin. That would make me very unhappy.”

I reach him and lift a hand, pressing my palm to his chest. His fur is warm. Coarse. Alive with energy.

“Is Draven awake?” I ask gently.

He shakes his massive head. “Maaaatttte,” he growls, low and deep.

“Yes, yes,” I murmur. “That’s something we’ll need to talk about. Later.”

His eyes don’t leave mine. Not even for a blink.

“First,” I whisper, “we need to find a way to take that collar off you.”

He nods once. Deadly. Calm. So intense.

"Tell me something," I say, keeping my voice steady. "Was the magic of the leash weaker the day you first shifted?"

“Yeeessss,” Draxis rumbles, the sound slithering out of him.

My heart stutters. Progress.

"And now?" I ask. "Is it repairing itself?"

He nods once — slow, reluctant. Damn.

"Hmm..." I murmur, chewing the inside of my cheek.

“Ask him if he knows who did it,” Neris whispers, practically bouncing inside my head. “Who put the leash on him?”

I nod subtly. “Draxis,” I say, meeting those molten silver eyes, “do you know who put the leash on you?”

His growl deepens instantly, a low, thunderous sound that starts in his chest and rolls through the clearing like war drums.

“Yeeessss,” he hisses, fury boiling in his breath.

My eyes snap wide. “Who was it?”

He whines. Low. Gutting.

“You can’t tell me?” I ask, gently now.