LAYLA'S POV
Since the binding ceremony, I have perfected the art of disappearing.
I decide to stay far away from Lucian, for real this time. If he trains in the courtyard, I scrub the kitchens. If he walks the halls, I duck into side passages with my head bowed low. My chores become a way to avoid him. I tell myself it is safer this way, safer for me, safer for him, safer for the mess of feelings that we have between us. Things are just too complicated.
But my body is a traitor. My heart races whenever I hear his voice down the hall. My wolf stirs when his shadow crosses my path. Every part of me wants to look, to reach, to remember the feel of his eyes on me. And every time, I force myself to look away.
I have no idea if I am really in love with him or I just like the attention he gives me and how he makes me feel. All I know is that I can't afford trouble. Not now. Not when I am barely holding myself together.
