“Shit,” I mutter.
“What is it?” Lyanna calls from below.
“Nothing.” I pocket the stone. “I need to check the northern perimeter.”
“Okay, I’m going to follow this line south. Call me on your comm if you need me.”
As I turn north, a figure emerges from the treeline. Rafe. His presence is substantial but silent—he doesn’t make a sound as he approaches.
“You feel it,” he says.
“Yes.”
His gaze is steady, analytical. “When did it start syncing to you specifically?”
“Last night,” I admit. “Maybe earlier.”
He nods, as if confirming a theory. “The field distortion isn’t random anymore. It’s tracking your energy signature.”
My jaw tightens. “I’m being careful with my markers.”
“It’s not the markers.” His eyes drift to my neck, where I know a faint bruise marks Dane’s touch. “It’s what happened between you and the Alpha.”
The air seems to thicken between us.
“Nothing happened,” I say. The words taste false even as I speak them.
“Enough happened,” Rafe counters. “And Faelan felt it. The connection opened a channel.”
“How?” I demand. “I’ve been shielding.”
“Physical bonds override shields. So do emotional ones.” His voice remains neutral, clinical. “He doesn’t need to be here to pull you. Not if you’re syncing yourself for him.”
The truth burns. Some part of me did this.
Rafe watches the realization cross my face. His next words land like stones:
“If he’s adapting to you, the timing’s broken. You won’t see the next one coming.”
Rafe’s words hang between us, heavy and final.
“If he’s syncing to me—“ I start to say, but Rafe’s attention shifts suddenly to something behind me. His posture changes instantly—spine straight, shoulders set. Respectful but wary.
I turn.
Dane stands twenty feet away, half-shadowed by dawn light filtering through the trees. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Just watches us with those steel-gray eyes that miss nothing.
“Alpha,” Rafe acknowledges with a slight nod.
Dane ignores him completely. His focus locked on me. “What’s happening?” His voice is dangerously soft.
“Perimeter check,” I answer, keeping my tone neutral.
“Try again.”
I meet his stare directly. “The energy distortion is accelerating. My markers are reacting faster than predicted.”
He steps forward, eliminating half the distance between us. “And you weren’t going to tell me.”
