MACE

I was still standing where she’d left me.

Same spot. Same posture. Same damn silence.

The glass sat empty on the table, the amber smear of whiskey long dried against the rim. The night had faded into the grey light of dawn, but I hadn’t moved. Not even when the first rays sliced through the forest beyond the glass.

Her voice still echoed in my mind.

Saved me… because I’m your mate.

I’d shut it down before she could finish, but the words had burrowed deep, replaying over and over until they made my chest ache in a way I didn’t want to name. Because guess what, I wasn’t...