I nod weakly.He absorbs it like it matters.Like he’s tucking it somewhere safe inside himself.
“I’m Silas.”
Silas.The name fits him.Sharp edges and heavy shadows.
He hesitates.“Aria ...I need you to know something.”
My heart stutters.
He looks away, jaw clenching.“When I found you, something happened.Something unexpected.”
The bond flickers again.My leopard stirs a little more, curious but fearful.I already know.On some instinctive, primal level, I knew the moment he picked me up.
“You felt it,” I whisper, voice barely there.
His eyes snap to mine.“You did too?”
A tremble runs through me.“Yes.But it...”I swallow.“It isn’t working right.”
His entire body reacts, shoulders tensing and muscles locking, like someone stabbed him without warning.
“I thought it was just me,” he murmurs.
“It’s not.It’s ...broken.”
His eyes darken with rage, but I instinctively know it’s not aimed at me.Never at me.At the world.At the Hunters.At fate.Don’t ask me how I can be sure of this, I just am.
“We’ll fix it,” he says with terrifying certainty.
I shake my head.“You can’t fix what they did.”
“I can try.”His voice shakes on that last word.He cares.Too much already.And that scares me more than anything.
I pull my knees up to my chest and rest my chin on them.My whole body shivers, but I try to hide it.I’ve learned not to show weakness.Weakness earns punishment.
Silas watches me, his eyes softening.
“You’re safe here,” he whispers.
I squeeze my eyes shut.“You keep saying that.”
“It’ll be true,” he vows.“Even if it isn’t right now.”
Silence stretches between us.A creak of floorboards sounds outside the room.Silas turns his head slightly, posture alert.Someone is standing in the hall.The scent hits me a second later.A female, a wolf, strong and warm like sunlight.
A soft knock follows the scent.“Silas?”a woman calls gently.“How is she?”
He glances at me, asking permission without words.I nod once.He opens the door just enough to speak to her.
“Peyton,” he says softly.“She just woke up.”
She bends slightly to peer past him, her expression gentle, mother warm.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Peyton says softly.“Welcome to the Katu pack.”
I try to answer but my throat closes.Silas growls under his breath, as if the sound of my fear hurts him.
Peyton gives him a meaningful look.“Let her breathe, Silas.”
