Then he reached into his coat, producing a small velvet box. His movements were deliberate, reverent, as though he carried a sacred relic.
“Nyra,” he said softly, “this is for you.”
Her smile bloomed brighter, radiant with triumph as she accepted the gift. “Thank you, Alpha Alaric. You’ve always been so thoughtful.”
She tilted her wrist as she held the box, and that was when I saw it, the flash of silver that stole the breath from my lungs.
The bracelet.
The Silverfang Pack heirloom. A symbol of our bloodline’s legacy, a token passed from one generation to the next, carrying with it the weight of devotion and honor. I had asked him about it once, when we were newly mated, still clinging to the fragile belief that his heart might someday be mine. He had faltered only for a heartbeat before dismissing me.
“It’s nothing but an old trinket, Kaia. Lost years ago. What matters is that my heart belongs to you.”
But now, under the glow of the chandeliers, I saw the truth. It was not lost. It had never been mine to claim. It was always hers.