Killian's POV

[WARNING: Mature content]

I watched as Kelvin and the guards stepped out of the Inner court, his spirit was visibly broken. The moment they crossed the stone arch, I let out a long sigh.

The pain of losing one’s mate… it wasn’t something you could explain. It didn’t just burn, it ripped you apart. Like claws from the inside out, like your soul was being shredded thread by thread.

I’d seen a few of my people go through it. Strong wolves, hardened by war and time, reduced to nothing but trembling shadows of themselves. Even Ronan had once been one of them.

He never talked about it. Not...