The meeting was in full force now. The council members would arrive in exactly five days with their demands. The same demands Thorne had turned down for the past ten years. This time, however, it was different. They weren't coming just to demand the same old things. No. They were coming prepared, and Thorne had to be ready.

A map of the kingdom was sprawled across the center table, markers denoting trade routes, troop posts.

Thorne's brows was furrowed in deep concentration, jaw clenched tight as he listened to each of Mason's words.

Suddenly, he felt it.

A searing pain split through his chest, so sudden and sharp that he gasped.

The quill snapped in his hand. His vision blurred as the pain deepened, no, it burned. Pulling at something deep inside his ribcage. His heart stuttered, and he grabbed at his chest, staggering back from the desk.

"Your Majesty?" Caelum was on his feet in an instant.

"Thorne—?" Elara rushed out.

Thorne didn't answer. He couldn't. The pain that filled his chest was indescribable. He groaned, feeling the pain soar harder again.

It wasn't his. He could tell.

He felt it all at the same time. Pain. Fear, terror, humiliation. He felt it all, but the fear burned deep in his lungs.

He had never felt fear so deeply and vividly before. Never this deep inside him. Ink spilled across the parchment as his arm knocked over the inkwell. The desk was a mess, but Thorne didn't see it.

He was gasping now, breathing like he'd been stabbed. A pressure in his lungs that clawed to be released. The bond was pulling like an invisible wound around his soul was being yanked, tighter, tighter, tighter.

He couldn't make sense of what was going on. Nor could he make sense of the flood of emotions that wrecked his soul.

He dropped to one knee with a grunt, a hand bracing him on the floor.

"Thorne!" Caelum yelled, panicking. "What's happening? What's wrong?"

Thorne's jaw clenched so tight it looked like his teeth might crack. The veins in his neck were visible now, straining with the effort to stay upright. Sweat trickled down his face.

He opened his eyes suddenly, "Where is Adina?" His voice was hoarse.

Elara blinked, "Adina?" She paused, anger bubbling inside of her. "What has she got to do with this? Is she the one causing this pain? Did she do this to you!" She snarled.

"Shut up, Elara!" Caelum growled, without even looking at her.

Thorne panted painfully. "Find her." Thorne gritted out, the words felt like they hurt to say. "Now."

Caelum didn't hesitate. He turned to the guards stationed outside and barked, "Find Adina! Search the servants' quarters! The kitchens! Everywhere—GO!"

Another heavy wave of fear and pain hit Thorne sharply, and he groaned hard, sweat dripping down his face. His wolf howled inside him, going feral.

Thorne pressed a hand to his chest, vision blurring. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperate for something… something he couldn't name.

And then… he heard it. Her voice, a weak whisper. "Help."

He stopped breathing.

"Help me."

________

Adina was on the forest floor, her body trembling like a leaf in a storm.

Her fingers dug weakly into the dirt as she tried and tried to push herself up. But she couldn't. Her limbs were like water, and her chest heaved weakly.

She groaned, blinking blearily through the haze. A searing pain hit her all at once. Something hot slammed into her neck. It wasn't a strike nor was it a cut. It was a burn.

She screamed—no, she choked on it, the pain was so intense. It had tears leaking out the corner of her eyes.

How did she end up weak and helpless on the forest grounds? She'd tried to run only to be held from behind by one of the rebels. He pressed something against her face, and the last thing she heard was the men mocking laughter.

Her neck burned like something inside her wanted to rip out. She gasped for air, trembling all over. The air around her turned heavy, charged with something angry. Her skin felt slick with sweat, soaked like she'd just stepped out of water.

The men froze. "What—what's happening to her?" one of them stammered.

Another huffed, "Must be the effect of the oil." He grinned, dangling off a small bottle. He uncorked the bottle. A sweet, sickly scent hit the air instantly. It made Adina's stomach turn.

"Oil of vale," he said, "Mixed with a little bloodbane and some binding ash. Works like magic. It's probably the one that has her heating up." He looked at the others. "Look at her writhing for us. So slick, so wet. All for us."

He grinned and stepped forward, eyes dark with hunger.

Adina tried to scream, to push him away, but her limbs wouldn't move. Her fingers twitched uselessly in the dirt. Her body wasn't her own anymore.

She whimpered instead. A broken sound. Her throat ached from it.

He crouched low, tilting his head as he brought the cloth toward her face again. "It'll be over before you know it. Say good night, pretty thing."

The moment the cloth hovered above her—

The forest snapped.

It didn't creak. It thundered. The tree shook, and the birds panicked, screaming into the sky. The growl ripped through the woods with enough force to make the ground tremble.

The rebel holding the cloth froze mid-motion. His eyes went wide. "…What the hell was that?" he breathed, his voice suddenly small.

Another rebel staggered back. "Something's coming."

"No—someone," another whispered, his grip tightening on his blade.

Adina's body trembled as the bond roared through her blood. She couldn't move, but her heart knew. He was close. Her mate. Thorne.

Before anyone could speak again—before they could so much as breathe—something black and furious exploded from the tree line.

A blur of teeth and claws.

The rebel nearest her didn't even have time to scream. Thorne's wolf crashed into him like lightning, jaws snapping through flesh and bone like it was nothing. Blood sprayed across the trees. The body hit the ground, twitching.

They all exploded in panic, "RUN!" One of them screamed, but it was too late.

The Obsidian king was here, and he wasn't just angry… he was furious.

He snarled furiously as he tore into them one by one. Another rebel tried to flee, but he didn't make it five steps before Thorne's claws tore down his back and sent him crashing into the ground.

Adina blinked through her haze, her vision blurring. All she could see was black fur, blood, glowing eyes. It was chaos. Fire. Rage and most of all, him. "He came."

Somehow, even though she couldn't move…

She felt safe.