None of it was real, but my body doesn’t know the difference. I can still feel the dead weight of her in my arms, the cold silence that followed.
When I look up, Seren’s already watching me. There’s something calculating behind her eyes, a hesitation that tells me she’s holding something back. The realization hits fast and hard. She knows.
My hand falls from Noa’s face as I take a step back, needing space before I grip her too tightly out of reflex. “You know,” I accuse, my tone teetering close to a growl. “You know how I can stop this.”
Seren tenses, a subtle step backward betraying her nerves. For the first time, I see the omega in her—not weak, but wary. Ready to protect herself if I snap.
Smart.
“I’m on Team Noa,” she says quickly, palms raised slightly. “Always have been, always will be. But that also means I couldn’t push her. She had to find her own way back to you.” She hesitates, a faint smile tugging at her mouth. “Still…I’ll admit I’ve been rooting for you. Quietly. From a safe distance. Because Noa deserves something good like a healed bond and a mate whofights for her. I asked once if you meant it, about earning her back. You said you did, and I believed you then. I can sense that truth in you now, too. You’re not lying. Not to her. Not to me.”
Right. She’s an empath, a charmer like Noa and Zora. She canfeeltruth. Among other emotions. How far her gift goes from there, I haven’t been granted that information.
Seren’s gaze narrows, all softness evaporates. “You stand there telling me you don’t want to hurt her, but this…betrothal party?” The words come out clipped, each one a slap. “All this for that redheaded bitch and her father? Your ties to that woman are the biggest thing standing between you and Noa, and it’s fucking killing her, Rennick. So if you want answers, you’d better give me one first. Why are you doing this today? And your reason better be good, because if it’s not I will team up with the coven, and we will dig one up for you—right out of your damn rib cage.”
Her challenge hits like a gauntlet thrown. My whole body goes rigid, that dominant part of me baring its teeth at the omega standing before me. She holds answers I need—dangles them like bait—and the animal in me snarls to take them, to use my alpha bark and pry the truth from her lips. But the part of me that refuses to turn power into a weapon keeps me rooted. And Noa would lose her mind if she knew I’d barked at her best friend, and she’d have every right to.
Instead, I tell her everything. I give her the truth that Noa couldn’t hear yesterday, the plan I’ve been setting in motion, the reason I haven’t called this farce of a party off. As I speak, I watch the shift in Seren’s face. Anger gives way to disbelief, disbelief turns to something darker. Satisfaction.
By the time I finish, her lips have curved into a sneer that mirrors the same vindictive spark purring in my chest. “You’re still an asshole for keeping her in the dark,” she reminds me bitterly, trying to stay mad on Noa’s behalf. It doesn’t stick.“ButI see why you did. And I love it. I can’t wait to see their fucking faces.”
I release a breath. Relief mixes with the steady pulse of dread that’s never far away. My gaze drops back to Noa. “I wanted her to be there too. I wanted her to see that all of this was for her. That was the point.”
Seren’s expression shifts again. Determination hardens the fine lines of her features. “I’ll work some magic and make sure she’s there. You’re right, she needs to be there for this.”
I raise a brow at her sudden resolve, but she waves me off and rounds the bed. “Go. Get showered, get dressed, handle what you need to with Canaan. Leave Noa to me. I’ll make sure she’s ready and there on time.”
I don’t move. “You said it hurts her if I leave?—”
She cuts me off with another flick of her hand. “I’m calling Zora in for backup. Between the two of us and throwing the kitchen sink of healer remedies at Noa, we’ll figure something out. It’ll be a temporary fix, something that at least gets her on her feet for a bit until you can get back to her side. But, just a heads-up, I will be raiding your closet and stealing some of your clothes. Surrounding her with your scent while you’re gone will help.”
“Help yourself. Noa can have anything.”She deserves everything.
Seren’s voice drops as she starts muttering to herself, half planning aloud. When she snaps out of it, she moves closer and starts shooing me toward the door. I note the way she makes a conscious effort to not actually touch me and risk leaving her scent on me out of respect for her friend.
I go reluctantly, every step away from Noa feeling wrong. My hand finds the handle, but before I can twist it, Seren’s voice stops me.
“Rennick.”
I glance back.
“It’s not something that’ll heal on its own or with time. The only cure for rejected mate syndrome is a repaired bond,” she says, voice low, eyes fixed on me. It isn’t just an explanation—it’s a plea. “And a bond is mended the same way one it’s forged.”
Her words hang in the air, and the answer hits me all at once, crashing through me with blinding clarity.
“My bite”
“Yourclaimingmark.”
The world goes still.
Chapter 22
Noa
Waking feels like surfacing through honey. Warm, heavy, slow. My body fights the pull of sleep, clinging to it like it’s safer there than whatever waits on the other side.But the world insists, tugging me back until my eyes open to golden light and a familiar ceiling above me. My bedroom—at Rennick’s house. Home, for now anyway.
Confusion sets in. I don’t know how I got here.
