Finished


    Third Person’s POV


    “So you won’t put deeper meaning <i>to </i>Ss Whitmor’s words?” Kade pressed. His voice was cautious, but edged with a grow! that betrayed the wolf in him.


    Freya shook her head. “No. I know the way of Alphas like him. Perhaps he speaks of ‘courting out of fleeting interest. But I… 1 am not so careless. Not after all I’ve endured.”


    Kade’s chest tightened. She spoke with that clipped discipline of a soldier, and yet, beneath it, he could hear the ache of old betrayal. She was no fragile human woman to be won with ttery–she was Stormveil–born, raised under oaths and blood.


    “Then.” Kade asked, lowering his voice, “you feel nothing at all toward him?”


    Her answer came firm, unyielding. “I’ve only just divorced, Kade. My heart has no room for new entanglements. What I want is simple: to finish my contract as Ss Whitmor’s bodyguard, and when those three moons are done, return to The Capital. There, I’ll resume my work–and continue searching along the border for Eric.”


    JAt the mention of her brother, Kade stilled. The Iron Fang Recon Unit had scoured the bordends five years ago, finding


    nothing but silence and ash. To all others, Eric Thorne had perished, swallowed by the chaos of war. But Freya’s conviction remained unbroken.


    “Freya,” he said softly, “five years without a sign. even the strongest hunters in the Legion never found him. Are you certain


    “He’s alive,” she cut in, eyes zing. “I feel it. No one will shake me from that belief.”


    Silence stretched between them, heavy as steel.


    Finally, Kade exhaled and said, “Then let me go with you.”


    Her head snapped up. “No. That is my family’s burden. I’ll carry it alone.”


    “Alone?” His wolf rumbled beneath his skin, furious at the thought. He leaned forward, his voice raw. “Freya, I call you A’she -sister–not as some idle endearment. You are more to me than you realize. I cannot let you walk into the bordends without me.”


    “Kade-


    “Listen to me!” His interruption was sharp, his fists clenched on the table. “You think I call you sister because of Iron Fang? Because you once shielded me in battle? No. It’s more than that. You are my anchor. My wolf trusts only you. If you go, I go.”


    Her lips parted in surprise. For a moment, the fierce Alpha–blooded warrior softened. Then she lowered her gaze, uncertain. “Even if youe, I don’t know how long I’ll stay. It could be weeks. Months. Longer still.”


    Kade’s answer was instant, fierce. “Then I’ll stay. A year, a lifetime–it doesn’t matter.”


    Freya’s brows drew together. “You don’t need to do this. I looked after you in the Iron Fang Recon Unit because you were my soldier, my responsibility. That was duty. You owe me nothing.”


    But Kade’s eyes burned with the truth he had held too long. “It isn’t duty that drives me. Yes, I owe you. But it’s more. It’s always been more.”


    He faltered. The words clung in his throat, hot and heavy.


    Should he speak them now? Should he confess?


    His wolf urged him, snarling im her! Tell her she is yours! But reason hissed back: not yet. Not when her heart still bled from loss. Not when her mind was chained to the memory of her brother.


    Il he bared his soul too soon, she would refuse him. Worse–she might shut him out forever.


    And Kade ckridge, reckless in all things, found himself trembling with fear at the thought of losing her.


    “<b>What </b>is it” Freya asked, her voice softer now.


    Finished


    “L” He opened his mouth, but before the words could form, his WolfComm device vibrated. The sound shattered the fragile


    moment.


    He answered sharply. On the other end came his uncle’s urgent voice from The Capital. As Kade listened, his face darkened, jaw tightening.


    When the call ended, Freya studied him carefully. “What happened?”


    “My grandfather’sw firm, there’s trouble. It’s tied to matters from when I was overseas. I have to return to The Capital immediately.”


    Freya nodded. “Then go. Handle it.”


    But he lingered, eyes locked on her. His wolf howled within, refusing to part from her side. He wanted to snarl, to im, to chain himself to her shadow.


    Instead, he said only, “You’ll remain Ss Whitmor’s bodyguard for three months, and then return to The Capital?”


    “Yes,” she replied simply. “Three months. No longer.”


    Kade drew a steadying breath. “Then I’ll be waiting for you. And when youe back-” His voice hardened with resolve. “I won’t remain only your brother–in–arms. I’ll tell you what I truly want.”


    Her golden eyes lingered on him, searching. But before she could respond, he turned away, shoulders squared like a wolf going to battle.


    And in his chest, his wolf roared one truth over and over again: She is mine.


    Send Gifts


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