Footsteps echo lightly between the shelves. A soft, familiar voice floats back before I can even move.
“Found it!” Mira’s lantern bobs into view around the corner.
Nolan pulls back first, fast but not jerky. Controlled. His hand lingers on my face a second longer than it should. A faint, breathless brush of his thumb across my cheek, then he eases away, neck flushed, gaze dropping to the book between us.
I scrub a hand through my hair, pulse still thudding hard. My mouth is dry, my skin too warm. But when Mira rounds the corner, beaming with a thick, rune-bound tome hugged to her chest, Nolan is already leaning over his notebook like nothing happened.
Almost.
Because when I glance sideways, his fingers twitch faintly toward mine on the table. And when I brush them back, light, testing, he doesn’t pull away. The smallest smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. My stomach flips all over again.
Mira sets the book down between us with a soft thump. “This one has a whole section on binding outcomes.”
She flips carefully through the worn pages, landing on a section marked with faded tabs.
“Here.” Her finger traces the header. “Tether Evolution & Permanency.”
My breath catches. “Permanency?”
Mira reads aloud softly, “In rare cases, bonds formed under Veil-distress may exceed temporary alignment. If emotional or instinctual convergence persists...tether may solidify beyond training scope.”
Nolan's brow knits. “Meaning...”
Mira glances between us, eyes wide. “Meaning some Veilbinds don’t dissolve.”
A chill races through me. Nolan threads his fingers lightly through mine—steady, grounding. But all I can think of is the bond whispering inside my chest.
And the fact that Raiden can feel it, too.
TEN
RAIDEN
The bond beatslow beneath my skin, steady, coiled like a snake ready to strike. I’ve been ignoring it for the past hour. Or trying to. Nothing could have prepared me to be Veilbond to the clearlynothuman girl with the sky blue eyes and a pert little nose. And curves that make my fucking mouth water. When I felt the tether snap into place, it took everything in me to let her walk out of there with Kael. The urge to protect her even then nipped at my heels.
“Tsukino, you good?”
I glance up, forcing my shoulders loose. One of the other shifters, Loki, grins across the table, his dinner untouched in front of him.
“Fine.” The word comes out flatter than I intend.
Too late to fix it. Because in the next breath, the bond flares. Heat. Cutting, bright—rolling through my chest and stomach—not mine. Hers.And the sensation that follows of lips, contact, breathless heat, hits like a punch straight to the chest. My jaw locks.
Loki keeps talking, oblivious. A couple others laugh, leaning into the conversation. I barely hear them. Because I can feel her. Someone else’s mouth on hers. My pulse spikes, ears ringing.
The kitsune inside me snarls, the instinct sharp and primal—take, claim, no one else can have her. I shove it down. Hard. What the fuck? My fingers curl tight around the edge of the table.
“Tense much?” Adeline’s elbow nudges my side. “You spacing out or just bored?”
“Neither.” My voice is a growl under the words.
But the bond throbs again, soft this time, almost…pleased. My gut twists. I drag in a breath, trying to level it. This is why I didn’t want the damn bond. Because I can feel everything now.
And pretending I don’t care? It’s getting harder by the second.
I drag in another breath, trying to level it. It barely helps. Because through the bond, another pulse rolls through me.
Contact. Comfort. Someone’s hands on her.
