ADAM
I had been mid-sentence when the pain struck.
Not the ordinary echo of the mate bond—no, this was different. This was raw. Immediate. Sharp with betrayal and blood. Sharp with death.
It felt like someone had driven a blade through my chest.
My voice cut off without warning. The words I had been saying to Feliq dissolved into air.
He looked at me, brows knitting slightly, waiting for me to continue listing the warriors available for deployment—but I could no longer focus on him, on the council hall, on the cluster of elders and ancients watching the room with wary patience.
The world narrowed. Heat flooded my ribs. And beneath it—Sage.
Not her voice. Not her presence. Her pain. Shock. Something wet and burning, like life slipping through fingers.
My jaw clenched. I tasted copper. What has happened to my mate?!
"Adam?" one of my brothers muttered.
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
