"Fate ties knots where reason sees only tangles."
The corridors of the castle were hushed, only the faint flicker of torches breaking the silence as I stalked beside my brother. Rell had his arms crossed over his chest, jaw tight, as if sheer force of will could stop the churn of emotions between us. But it did not. I could feel his wolf pacing just as restlessly as mine, the echo of rejection still raw, still pulsing.
Riven's words replayed like a curse: "I am a lone panther. I do not entangle, not now or ever; I will never be mated."
They had not just got stung; they had gotten hurt. Wolves were born for bonds, for mates, for the tether of destiny. To be told no by the very being our souls cried for… it was like breathing ash. "We should go and confess to his majesty King Alaric," Rell said finally, his voice gruff. "If anyone knows what in the hells to do, it's him."
