Chapter 17: The First Bonded Night

Lyria’s POV Shadowrend Keep was a cathedral of darkness, its stone halls echoing with the hush of a storm waiting to break. Night pressed close thick, breathless, electric. And somewhere in that darkness, the bond between Kael and me pulsed like a living heartbeat. I couldn’t sleep. The ember inside me twisted restlessly, coils of heat unfurling beneath my skin. My wolf paced in tight circles, breath sharp, claws dragging against the inside of my chest. Kael sat across the room, still...