Now, the tribe was still out there, shadows in the night, waiting. The moment her true form awakened, they’d sense it. They’d come for her, and they’d kill her without mercy. I couldn’t let that happen. I’d built this life of lies to keep her distant, to smother the mate bond that screamed for her. Every cold word, every night with Liora—it was all a shield. But goddess, it hurt.
I was still lost in my thoughts, the room feeling smaller with every breath, when the bedroom door creaked open. The sound sliced through the silence like a knife, jolting me upright. Liora walked in, her hips swaying in that calculated way she thought was seductive.
“Baby,” she whispered, her voice soft and cloying, like honey laced with poison.
I clenched my jaw so hard I felt a muscle twitch, anger surging
