(Kieran POV)
The space between us felt charged with more than simple proximity—something deeper was building in response to stress that had tested every assumption about acceptable risk. The mate bond that had been growing since her arrival was responding to survival with intensity that made rational thought increasingly difficult.
With recognition that we'd both survived something that could have destroyed everything.
With gratitude that transcended intellectual appreciation and approached something more primal.
With need for contact that would confirm life rather than simply acknowledge it.
With hunger for touch that would prove connection remained intact despite violence that could have severed it permanently.
I reached toward her without conscious decision, drawn by forces that e
