Aidan.
The moment Vanessa's voice sliced through the room, 'I hope tomorrow when my wolf fully awakens, I would be your mate', something inside me snapped awake, sharper than instinct, deeper than breath.
My senses flared, every nerve firing like lightning under my skin, and before I could stop myself, my gaze drifted automatically toward Maria, motionless on the ground.
Not collapsed. Not fainted. Just… still.
Like a statue carved from pain, her eyes wide open but staring into nothing. It almost looked like her soul had stepped outside her body for a moment, leaving only a shell behind.
And Goddess help me, my wolf reacted first. A violent ripple rolled through my chest, rejection, denial, refusal.
Not me denying Vanessa, not my mind, but my wolf.
'She is not ours. She cannot be. We already have one.' my wolf hauled in protest.
Maria.
