“Not if he doesn’t give me some space,” Cora muttered, her voice quieter now. She looked down at the book again. “Ididn’t sign up for this bond, and I sure as hell didn’t sign up for him treating me like I’m fragile. I’ve handled worse than this, Elena. I don’t need him swooping in every time something looks hard.”
Cora looked down at the book again and picked at the edges. The thought of asking Grayson for help made her stomach roil, but she'd do it if it meant regaining even a fraction of her independence.
“Fine. But if he starts acting like this is his idea, I’m throwing him out a window.”
“Go for it,” Elena agreed with a smile. “And Cora? Be patient with yourself. And with him. This bond isn’t just a curse. It’s also an opportunity.”
Cora snorted before standing and tucking the book under her arm. “An opportunity for what? A headache?”
Elena laughed. “You’ll figure it out.”
Cora didn’t have an answer for that, so she just nodded and headed for the door. As she stepped back outside, the weight of the book in her hands felt heavier than it should have, as if it carried more than just instructions. It carried hope—and maybe something she wasn’t ready to face yet.
The sun had dipped lower by the time Cora left Elena’s cottage, with barely enough light to illuminate the dirt path leading back toward Bellefleur. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know Grayson’s influence was still hovering nearby. His Black Ops team had a way of blending into the shadows, but she’d seen them enough times to know they were there—watching, waiting, making sure she got home safely. It was typical Grayson, overbearing and impossible to shake, even from a distance. She hated how much it grated on her, that constant reminder she wasn’t truly free.
She clutched the leather-bound book to her chest.Soul-deep. The words lingered in her mind like a tune she couldn’t shake, and each repetition made her pulse quicken.
Her boots crunched against the gravel as she walked, and the rhythmic sound provided a semblance of order amidst the chaos brewing inside her. She’d spent hours at Elena’s, going over every detail of the tempering ritual and every possible way to mitigate the bond’s influence. But none of it felt like enough. If the bond truly went beyond magic and was tied to something as unchangeable as their souls, what chance did she have of reclaiming her autonomy?
The town came into view just as the streetlights came to life. The community was small, close-knit, and, for the most part, predictable. That was what she’d liked about it when she first arrived—a place where she could blend in, where no one asked too many questions. But tonight, something felt…off.
Cora slowed her pace as she passed the bakery. Despite the mild evening, a man leaned against a lamppost on the corner with his jacket pulled tight around him. He wasn’t looking at her directly, but his posture set her teeth on edge. Across the street, a pair of women stood outside the hardware store sharing a hushed conversation, and their eyes darted toward her building more than once.
She forced herself to keep walking as her fingers tightened around the book. By the time she reached the staircase leading to her apartment, her heart was pounding, and not from the climb.
They were definitely watching her.
Grayson was waiting when she opened the door. He was sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and his jaw set in a way that made her think he’d been stewing for hours.
“You’re late,” he announced.
“Didn’t realize I was on a curfew,” Cora replied, kicking off her boots by the door. “What’s your problem?”
“You were supposed to check in.” He stood, and his broad frame suddenly seemed much closer than it should have been. “Where the hell were you?”
“I was with a friend.” She moved past him, dropping the book onto the table with a thud. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“It is my business,” he shot back. “Everything about you is my business until this bond is broken.”
Cora spun to face him as her temper exploded. “Right. Because you think you own me now. Because of this stupid bond that neither of us wanted.”
“I don’t own you, but I’m responsible for you, whether you like it or not. And if you’d stop fighting me for five seconds, maybe you’d see that I’m trying to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?” she demanded, throwing her hands up. “From living my life? From making my own decisions? You won’t even tell me what’s going on. You expect me to trust you, but you won’t give me a single damn reason to.”
His muscles flexed as he struggled to hold back whatever he wanted to say. “You don’t need to know everything.”
“That’s not good enough. If you think I’m going to sit here and let you make decisions for me, you’ve got another thing coming.”
The bond pulsed hard between them with a palpable tug that neither could ignore. Grayson’s wolf stirred in his eyes, but he held it at bay, and his voice dropped to a dangerous calm.“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Cora. If you knew half of what I’ve seen, what I’ve done—”
“Then tell me! Stop treating me like a child. Stop keeping me in the dark. Just tell me the truth.”
The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by their labored breathing. For a moment, it seemed like he might actually open up, but then he shook his head and retreated a step. “It’s not that simple.”
“It never is with you, is it?”
The frustration raging inside her reached its boiling point, and before she could stop it, her magic surged to the surface. It came alive in a spark of power that shot out like a flash of lightning. Grayson’s eyes widened as the bond reacted, flaring to life between them.
