Her scent was changing, her body trying its best to catch up to the Moon nearly full in the sky.
We didn’t have a month like her sister did… We had a few hours.
“Dear Goddess,” Latoya uttered a prayer from behind me.
Still in her wolf form, Grace hovered above the rogue, assuming position without my needing to ask.
One guard was enough, and Maya and Jerome had grown too close to Joanna. I didn’t want her to see usallworry about her. So, they were dealing with the rogues that’d been brave enough to stay and fight after Silas was eliminated.
Malik limped toward us, cradling his broken arm while holding an abnormally long breath. “How much time do we have?”
Joanna opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. “Not much.”
A low growl rose from my gut. “Joanna, please.”
She faced me. “It’s fine, Marcus.”
“How is this fine?” Malik demanded.
She hesitated before looking up at him. “Because I’ve decided… that if we survive…” Joanna returned her glossy gaze to me.
We.Because she wasn’t the only one in danger.
I steeled myself, not letting my eyes drop to where her hand rested on her stomach.
“I want to live here, okay?” she said thickly.
Malik stormed off, cursing under his breath.
I lifted her hand and kissed the back of her palm, fighting my own tears threatening to fall. “You’re only saying that because you think youwon’tsurvive.”
She laughed. As pitiful as it was, I loved every second of it.
“I’m serious,” she said, shaking her head. “I… want…” She pulled her hand from mine to gesture between us. “This.”
My bottom lip trembled. “You have no idea how much hearing that means to me, Joanna… but Idon’twant…” I tracedthe edges of the Bite. “This.” My hand balled into a fist as I pulled away.
She dropped her head. “Me neither.” Her voice was so small, full of sadness and fear. But was there a hint of doubt?
Guilt flooded over me, dark and heavy. “I’m afraid you won’t believe me when I tell you… that I’msosorry. That I was selfish. That if I could do it all over—”
“You would reject the bond?”
I leaned in closer, being surer than I’d ever been in my life. “I would confess how I felt sooner. I would give you the space you needed until you decided what you want. And if that ended up not being me, it would have to be okay.” I swallowed hard. “Because as much as it would hurt not to have you by my side, Joanna, seeing you unhappy destroys me.”
Her eyes had softened. “Marcus, I…” She paused, her gaze set on the main building. “It’s Director Li.”
An Asian woman approached us in a light blue pantsuit, looking misplaced amongst the countless bodies and blood. But her weightless aura made every hair on my skin stand on end. It felt… wrong.
The compound stilled. Maya and Jerome stopped checking for life. Latoya stopped crying. Only the sharp clacks of the director’s heels on the pavement cracked through the silence.
Agent Hill followed behind her at the ready—gun in hand, finger on the trigger. Unlike the first time I’d seen him, his badge hung on a silver chain around his neck, a small crystal glowing within the leather.
Director Li cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to meet like this, Marcus Blackwood.”
Joanna pushed herself up to straighten against the vehicle. “Why are you here?”
The question was for Agent Hill, but it was Malik who answered.
