Victor POV

Ayla's agony begins to resonate inside my chest, and I'm sure Soren is feeling it too, but I know it's not Ghost's fault, not in the way Soren thinks it is. I take several deep breaths as the minutes pass and the pain begins to dissipate, and finally, Ayla's eyes come back into focus.

I see my mate hug Soren as if her life depended on it.

"Are you all right?" She starts to ask while checking to see if Soren is hurt. "Did something happen? Say everything's fine!"

I see Soren swallow dry, and his guilt spreads.

"I'm fine, Ayla... Everything's fine! Nothing happened!" Soren answered each...