I couldn’t stop trembling.

Every nerve inside me still burned with phantom claws, with the memory of her controlling me, twisting me, almost making me kill Kael with my own hands.

The mark on my stomach still glowed faintly, like an ember under my skin. It felt like it didn’t belong to me anymore. Like my body was a battleground, and I was just a guest inside it.

Kael didn’t let me go. His arms were iron around me, his breath rough against my hair.

“Breathe, omega. Just breathe with ...