"Today," Lilith continues, "you stand in the dark, stripped of your magic, missing your arm, bearing the physical scars of a war you fought to protect her. Do you have anything to say to the woman you broke?"
Kade takes a deep, shuddering breath. He turns to face me. He doesn't use the merge. He doesn't project his thoughts into my mind. He uses his physical voice, letting the raw, unfiltered emotion ring out in the quiet chamber.
"Isla," he says, his voice rough, cracking slightly on my name. "Three years ago, I was a coward. I was an arrogant, blind Alpha who thought power was the only thing that mattered. When I rejected you, I thought I was protecting my pack. I thought I was protecting myself. But I was just protecting my own ego."
He reaches up with his right hand, his large, call
