Something gentle entered Christina's eyes.

"The mate bond is the deepest connection a wolf can form. His love doesn't just comfort you, Aurelia. It anchors your bloodline."

"As long as that bond holds, the shadow cannot fully consume you."

I thought of Valtherion's voice cutting through the crimson rage during the Purifier battle.

The memories he'd poured through the bond. My forehead against his chest, my laugh in our house, the way I said his name in my sleep.

Love as a weapon against darkness.

It should have sounded like a fairy tale.

It didn't. I'd felt it work.

"My mother," I said. "What happened to her? To both of...