The forest did not welcome them.
It recoiled.
Leaves curled inward as Luther stepped closer, the ground beneath his boots cracking faintly with each measured stride. Power bled from him unchecked now, the kind that bent territory to submission rather than asked permission. Wolves would feel this for miles.
Valentine felt it too.
The bond surged violently, no longer a dull ache but a living thing clawing at her chest, responding to his proximity with alarming intensity. She pressed her palm against her sternum, steadying her breath as the silver warmth beneath her skin pulsed in answer.
“You should not be here,” Eryx said quietly, though his gaze never left Valentine. “Not yet.”
Luther ignored him completely.
His eyes were fixed on her. Not her injuries. Not the crackling remnants of
