Kalev’s POV

I knew I was getting closer to her. Not because I could see signs of her movement yet. Although there were some. Subtle shifts in the ground to suggest someone had passed through. The occasional footprint.

But it was mostly Orrin who told me we were getting closer to her. He had picked up Verity’s scent.

So we continued through the forest.

Orrin stayed quiet, but he alert in a way he’d hadn’t been since the Gala. He had spent weeks turned inward and then completely disappearing after the rejection, silent and wounded. His grief had sat between us, very heavy.

But he was different now. The mate...