Chapter 7: The Ultimatum

Lyria’s POV The world stopped moving. Mate. The word slammed into my chest with the force of a collapsing star. My wolf surged forward, claws scraping against the inside of my skin, desperate and wild in a way I didn’t recognize. “No,” I whispered. Kael didn’t flinch. Didn’t react. He simply stood there, impossibly still, as if carved from shadow and bone. His blind eyes lifted toward my voice, unerring despite their emptiness. “Yes,” he said softly. The forest held its...