“I’ll protect him,” Dorian said. The words came out like a vow carved in stone. “I swear it.”
“I know you will.” Alina smiled, sad and grateful. “You always have. He trained you to take his place as Beta, but you’ve become so much more than that. You’re the one person he can rely on completely.”
She turned to Malena, and something passed between them—an understanding Dorian wasn’t privy to.
“Take care of him,” Alina said softly. “He’s going to need you.”
Malena nodded, her hand tightening on Dorian’s.
And Dorian felt it again—that pull in his chest. That recognition. That certainty that this woman, this impossible traveler who walked between worlds, was his. Mate.
But he didn’t claim her. It was too soon.
Neither of them spoke the word aloud.
There was too much at stake. Too much c
