Sera's POV
The warm, steaming water relaxed my sore muscles as I leaned my head back against the edge of the clawfoot tub. The scent of lavender and eucalyptus filled the quiet bathroom, carrying away the last lingering aches of the morning's shift. After months of surviving on cold water and fear, a simple bath felt like an impossible luxury.
I closed my eyes, letting the water lap gently against my collarbone, when a sudden, heavy pressure slammed straight through our newly forged bond.
My breath caught in my throat. My pulse spiked as a wave of suffocating power, sharp and dark with lethal intent, rippled across the link. It wasn't directed at me—I knew that instantly—but the sheer intensity of Gideon’s Alpha aura was undeniable. It made my wolf, Vera, sit up sharply in the back of
