Chapter 14

Six months had drifted by the moment Alina first swept into Camila’s chambers, daring her on a whim: “I’ll make Alpha Killan despise you with every fiber of his being.” Camila had looked up from her embroidery, brow arching, a faint curl tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Mind your own affairs,” she’d snapped back. “Killan would never believe a word you say.” Yet now, beneath the vaulted beams of their moonlit hall, Camila realized just how wrong she’d been.

From that day onward, a slow, insidious rift had opened between her and the Alpha. At first, it was barely perceptible—if Killan lingered at their shared meal a heartbeat less, or mentioned her name a syllable quieter, she chalked it up to his busy mind. But by midwinter, the distance had widened until it felt cavernous. Whenever she pressed him with gentle questions—What has troubled you? Why did you glanc