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AVAILABLE: Tuesday, January 13th
~Editor's Pick~
Rejected.
Broken.
Left to die.
Thorne thought her mating ceremony would seal her destiny. Instead, Gabriel shattered her in front of the entire pack, tearing away her bond and leaving her to bleed in the forest.
But fate isn’t finished with her.
Altero, the Stygian Pack’s exiled loner, never wanted a mate and never wanted to be tied down. Yet when he finds Thorne half-dead on his land, the bond between them ignites … wild, dangerous, and undeniable.
He’s her second chance. She’s his greatest risk.
But when the past comes knocking, will their bond survive?
I want to tell her the truth, that I pulled away because touching her feels too damn good, too dangerous. That I’m one second away from claiming her and never letting her go. That if I lose her after that, it’ll destroy me in ways even Maddox never could.
But I don’t. Because I’m a coward.
Instead, I turn, clenching my fists, forcing the beast back into its cage. “Sit down before you fall on your ass.”
She doesn’t answer. But the silence that follows is worse than any scream ever could be.
Her eyes drop, her lashes hiding the storm swirling there. She turns from me, moving stiffly back to the bed, her shoulders hunched under the weight of my words. The quilt slips, and I almost step forward, almost catch it, almost fix the damage I just caused…
But I freeze instead. Like a damn coward. She crawls back under the covers, curling into herself, her back facing me. Small. Alone. The faint tremor in her shoulders is a knife I can’t pull free.
I stand there for too long, my chest burning with words I’ll never say.
Finally, I force myself toward the stove, adding logs to the fire with more force than necessary. Sparks leap and wood splits. I tell myself the noise will drown out the sound of her breathing, the quiet sniffle I swear I hear, the salty tears I can smell in the air.
But it doesn’t.
It echoes. Every broken inhale. Every silent tear I know she’s trying to hide from me.
I rake a hand through my hair, pacing again, my beast thrashing under my skin. Go to her. Fix it. Hold her.
But I don’t. I’ve ruined enough things by wanting too much.
Eventually, her breathing evens out, softening into sleep once more. The bond thrums, gentler now, tugging me back toward her like it always does. My feet move before I decide, and I end up at the edge of the bed again.
She’s curled tight, clutching the blanket like a shield. Her face is damp, her lashes clumped from tears. My gut twists. I’m a real fucking asshole.
Carefully, I sit beside her. Not touching, not close enough to wake her. Just … there.
Her scent wraps around me, clean now, faint traces of herbs and firewood mixed with something uniquely hers. It fills the hollow spaces inside me, the ones I swore no one would ever touch again.
I drop my head into my hands, elbows braced on my knees. The words scrape out of me in a whisper too quiet for her to hear.
“I’m sorry.”
It’s not enough. Not close. But it’s all I have.
I stay there until my body aches from holding still, until sleep drags at my bones. The fire crackles low, shadows crawl along the walls, and still, I can’t make myself leave her side.
Because no matter how many times I tell myself bonds are chains, no matter how much I fight it … I already know.
I’m hers.
