Chapter Twenty five: The Vision Leads
Liora POV
I didn't sleep. Kael did, or at least he lay still enough to convince anyone watching
His arm was heavy across my waist, his breath slow and warm against the back of my shoulder.
If I hadn't watched him collapse days ago, hadn't seen the tremor in his hands when he thought no one noticed, I might have believed he was simply exhausted.
But I knew better now.
Three days without the vial. Nine wives before me.
Not chosen for love or legacy only for survival.
The words had settled into me like something sharp and unmovable. They didn't hurt the way I expected. They just stayed.
I stared at the ceiling and counted the spaces between his breaths.
If he loses control, the pack fractures.
If the pack fractures, I become unnecessary.
And unnecessary things don't survive long in this fortress.
This isn't about love. It never was.
Saving him means saving myself.
That truth steadied me more than anything romantic ever could.
