By dawn, the courtyard smelled of blood, heat, and smoke. My thighs were still wet from Kael’s rutting, my skin bruised from his desperate claiming. But I hadn’t slept.

Because the pup never left me.

It crouched beside the altar, faceless head pressed against my hip, ribs glowing faintly beneath its translucent hide. Each glow came in rhythm with my own heartbeat, as though my body pumped life into it.

Kael paced in the shadows, shirtless, claws flexing. He never looked away from the ...