The pain started as a low burn deep in Seren's bones, a fire that had nothing to do with the iron cuffs or the damp chill of the cell. At first, she thought it was simply exhaustion: hours of fear, the constant pull of the mating bond, the wolfsbane haze dulling her senses. But the burn intensified, spreading like molten threads through her marrow, her muscles, her very blood. The stress of captivity, the agonizing separation from her mates, and the desperate need to survive had triggered something ancient and unstoppable inside her fragile human body.
She gasped, doubling over as a fresh wave hit. The bond flared in response; Kael's feral worry slamming into her chest, Aeron's sharp concern cutting through the fog, Theron's shadowy presence wrapping around her like a protective cloak. They felt it too. They knew something was changing.
