‘Were you two close?’ Gunter’s voice brushed through my head through the bond—low, curious, but edged with that instinctive possessiveness that never quite slept.
‘We were,’ I answered silently. ‘Until Tyler.’
His mental growl was quiet but real. ‘And you trust him?’
‘He’s an omega,’ I reminded him gently. ‘He would’ve been beaten if he defended me. I don’t hold it against him.’
Gage’s expression shifted—like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words. Then he blurted it out, voice tight.
“I came to tell you—Tyler’s dead.”
The words hung there for a second.
“He bled out,” Gage went on. “Too much damage. The healers said his wolf stopped fighting before they even got him on the table.”
Karma.
That was the first thought that crossed my mind. Not guilt. Not pity. Ju
