Caleb
The moment I left Queen Elise’s chamber, I could barely breathe.
The walls of the palace felt like they were closing in on me.
As soon as I was outside, I ran.
Not to the west wing. Not to the quarters Erick had given me. My wolf had already taken over before I could think, bones snapping, muscles stretching, fur bursting through my skin.
I shifted mid-stride and bolted straight into the woods, paws pounding against the earth, the wind tearing at my fur.
The echo of that one word my wolf had howled back in the Queen’s chamber wouldn’t stop ringing in my skull.
Mate. Mate. Mate!
“Shut up!” I snarled aloud, the sound coming out as a guttural growl through my wolf’s muzzle.
But he wouldn’t stop.
He kept repeating it, each time louder, filled with a maddening kind of joy th
