Chapter 89

Aren returned to Ironwood and the packhouse had long gone silent, the distant sounds of patrols and shifting wolves fading into the forest beyond the walls.

Cole lay on his back in his bed, staring into the dark. Aria rested against him, her head tucked under his chin, one arm draped across his chest. Her breathing was slow and even, the steady rhythm of someone asleep.

His fingers played absentmindedly through her hair and for a long time he said nothing but his mind would not stop thinking. About the chamber and about Kaev’s voice. The way the Lycan had looked at him.

Tomorrow. Everything came back to tomorrow. He exhaled slowly. “If I don’t walk out of that court…” The thought lingered unfinished. His arms tightened slightly around Aria, holding her closer.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured into the quiet room, thinking she couldn’t hear him as he assumed she was fast asleep.

His voice was low and rough with exhaustion. “I’m sorry this is what you walked into