Page 117 of Shifting Hearts 1
Later that night, Lucian and I are alone in the tent Vaelin gave us. He’s quiet again, fingers stroking the edge of the bite mark on my shoulder.
“She’s the first of many,” he murmurs.
“Or the last.”
He meets my eyes. “Are you scared?”
“Fucking terrified.”
He brushes a kiss to my temple. “Good. That means you’ll fight harder.”
I laugh softly. “You’re insane.”
He smiles, wolfish and wicked. “For you? Always.”
I lie awake long after he’s asleep because I know what this means. This bond isn’t just a tether between hearts. It’s a line in the sand. And when the blood starts spilling? We will be on the wrong side of every rule this world ever made.
But for the first time, I don’t feel like a mistake. I feel like a threat. And may the Goddess help anyone who tries to take him from me.
SEVENTEEN
The Price of Loyalty
Lucien
The first blow lands at my back where I never expect it. And from the only man I once calledbrother.
We’re meeting with the Night Shade Pack - a brutal mountain clan with no love for anyone who isn't pureblood wolf. I know what I’m asking when I walk onto their land with Emilia at my side.
But I’m ready to kill for her again if I have to. What I’m not ready for… is Kellan. My blood-bound second from the old days before I left the Northern packs.
He steps out from the crowd of wolves like a ghost dragged back to haunt me, still wearing the leather crest I carved for him the night we took our oaths. I knew he was loyal. What I didn’t know was to whom.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” he says.
“I’ve got business with your Alpha.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I narrow my eyes. “Then what did you mean?”
His gaze flicks to Emilia, sharp and sour. “You marked a witch. You forfeited your place the second you bonded with her.”
“She’s mine,” I growl. “That’s all they need to know.”
“No,” Kellan says, voice like broken ice. “That’s all you needed to believe.”
I feel the betrayal the moment it happens. A ripple through the bond. The Night Shade Alpha steps forward with a sneer.
“There’s a price for betrayal, Lucian.”
My hackles rise. “You want a war? You’ve got it.”
“No. Not war.” The Alpha smiles. “Just a demonstration.”
Kellan moves. He’s fast… too fast. He aims for Emilia.
I don’t remember shifting. One heartbeat I’m flesh, the next I’m wolf.I crash into him mid-lunge, teeth sinking into his shoulder, and we tumble across the stones in a blur of blood and fury.
