Her legs gave out.
Just like that.
Like her body had betrayed her mid-run.
One second she was chasing him, glowing from the inside out, wolf wild in her bones, eyes blazing with power neither of them understood. The next second..nothing. No cry. No warning. Just a sharp collapse, knees buckling, body crumpling into the dirt like her soul had been yanked out of her spine.
She didn’t even try to catch herself.
She just fell.
And stayed down.
Lucien didn’t notice at first.
He was too far ahead, too drunk on the sound of her breath, the rhythm of her paws pounding the forest floor behind him. He could still hear her laughter from minutes ago. Still feel the bond vibrating between them like a live wire strung tight across the woods.
But then it snapped.
So fast. So violently it made h
