"In finding his mate, the Alpha found his kingdom; in touching the twin hearts, he found eternity."
The shock of Elias's revelation of the existence of a double anchor within the heart of the Law had ripped through the last vestiges of the journey's chaos. It did not just ground me; it fortified me. The immediate, sacred duty was not to war, but to the Anchor to the three lives I had risked everything to reclaim.
I remained kneeling by the bed of hides, my hands pressed against Elias's abdomen, absorbing the powerful, dual pulse of life. The realization that my fear had been halved and my responsibility doubled filled me with an overwhelming sense of destiny. The deep, resonant silence of the Cradle felt expectant, waiting for the command that would break it.
