Rion’s POV
Five days.
Five f*****g days of silence that carved deeper grooves into me every sunrise.
Her scent had vanished from my chamber.
No mocking little mindlink pinging from the capital saying “Miss me yet?” Nothing. Just the slow bleed of hope turning black.
And to think that above my better judgement, I had hoped…prayed that she would come back like she promised. But she didn’t.
And that snuffed out the remaining fire.
I’d stopped asking scouts for updates on day four. Stopped staring at the horizon like a fool waiting for a ghost to walk back through the gates.
The man who’d once begged her…voice cracked, arms open…had been replaced by something colder. Something that didn’t beg… Something that didn’t feel… Didn’t break.
Or so I told myself.
Inside my skull, my wolf,
