LUCIAN’S POV
I had spent so long convincing myself there was only one acceptable ending that, when the truth finally clawed its way into the open, my first instinct was to reject it.
‘MATE!’
Rhegan's howl continued to reverberate through every corner of my consciousness, fierce enough to make my skull ache.
But…no.
He was wrong; he had to be.
The word echoed in my mind anyway as my wolf surged forward with desperate urgency, straining against whatever remained of Catherine's chains.
Around me, reality fractured into overlapping impressions: Sera’s surprised recoil, Corin’s controlled alarm, Kieran’s tense stillness, Zara’s soft inhale, Evelyn’s stunned silence.
They were all there, but none of them was the center of what I felt.
The center was the word.
MATE.
It wasn’t for Sera—she had already reforged her bond with Kieran. I felt it shimmering between them, absolute and unmistakable.
Maris, too, was spoken for.
