ng them to the bone, but neither of them seemed to care. Tristan could feel the weight of the moment, the unspoken te

ache. The un

apart, it was as though nothing had changed. Her scent still wrapped around him,

e that had lingered between them. Her voice was strained,

him with a force he wasn't prepared for. He turned to face he

the words felt like shards of glass. "You didn't tr

he storm. It had always been there, beneath the anger and the frustration, that deep, ach

eek despite the rain. "I trusted you with my heart, Tristan. But I didn

one that he couldn't stop. "And

s wolf raged inside him, demanding he claim her, end the uncertainty, and make her his again. B

t of her confession. "But I've had time. Time to understand it, to learn how to control the cur

air, down his face, and yet his gaze never left her. The fire between them-undying and relentle

y, though the uncertainty was still there, creeping

an she used to be-the woman who had been his everything. The pain in her eyes so

y audible over the rain. "I don't know what's going t

ing out to gently touch her arm, grounding her. "You don't have

them knew what the future held. But the bond-their bond-was something that could not

*

s passed in a blu

art of his mind remained with Selene. He had to focus. He had to keep his pack safe. The rogues, the curse-none of it was trivial.

ign of strength, of unity. Others, especially the older members, were more skeptical. They remembered her de

ns that swirled around him. The alpha could handle it, he could manage the politics and t

e, working on controlling her wolf, meditating, doing whatever she could to prepare herself for the fight ahead

he darkness. The stars above him were clouded by the storm, the moon barely visible through the haze. But there was somet

ootsteps alerted him to he

y, her voice cutting through the silence. "But it's dangerou

eyes narrowing as he stud

eady tried to claim me a few times." She paused, swallowing hard, as though trying to fight the fear in her chest. "When I

ut firm, the weight of their history sitt

ued. "But the power-it's not something I can control forever. And the rogues-they're part of it. They'v

eeping down his spine. "So they're after you,

t just our pack, but every pack in our territory. The curse is linked to the old magic

the situation settled over him. He had known the rogues were dangerous, but

oice low but resolute. "We'll sto

n," Selene said, her voice steady despite the

osing the distance between them. "

The bond, though strained, flared once more, a reminder of everything they had shared. She was

re was peace. It was fleeting, but for the first time since her return, Tristan felt