Chapter 23 · No Clean Break

The blade was already in Kade's hand when I walked in.

Not pointed at anyone. Just there. Silver edge catching the warehouse light like he'd been holding it for a while, thinking.

"Put that down," I said.

He didn't look up. His jaw was set in that way that meant he'd already made a decision and wasn't interested in hearing alternatives. The bond flared hot under my ribs, a warning I didn't need.

"You read it," he said. Not a question.

The torn page from the old text was still in my jacket pocket. I'd read it three times on the drive over. The guardian gives up his wolf heart. The ink was faded, the phrasing old, but the meaning was clear enough.

"Yeah," I said. "I read it."

"Then you know what happens next."

I stepped closer. The bond pulled tighter, like it wanted me to close the gap between us, but I stopped just outside his reach.

"What happens next is you tell me there's another way."

Kade finally looked at me. His eyes were amber, the wolf too close to the surface. "There isn't."

"Bullshit."

"Lena." He said my name like it cost him something.