Chapter 3
I didn't invite Sevian in right away.
Every pup in the Northland had heard stories about the vampires.
They had no shadows. They feared sunlight.
They couldn't enter a house without being invited.
They used blood bonds to turn people into blood thralls.
When I was in charge of recording border disputes, I'd seen blood thralls myself.
Their eyes were empty, like they were alive, but hollow inside, as if their souls had already left them.
So I leaned against the doorframe, watching Sevian for a long time.
He didn't rush me.
The rain kept coming down harder.
He stood outside with his black umbrella, but half his shoulder was already soaked.
But he just stood there.
He didn't reach out, didn't try to force his way in.
He didn't say a single word of pity about how miserable I looked.
Finally, I said, "Come in to take shelter from the rain."
Only then did Sevian step over the threshold.
The moment he stepped inside, the candlelight flickered.
There was no shadow at his feet. I felt a chill ripple through my chest.
He closed his umbrella and stood about three steps away from me. "May I come closer?"
I froze.
Ryan never asked.
When the full moon rose and he needed me, I had to go.
If the Sacred Spring hurt me, I had to grit my teeth and take it.
When Ryan's lunar mark cracked, I had to write it down as only a "fluctuation".
No one ever bothered to ask if I was willing to.
I said hoarsely, "Yes."
Sevian moved closer and crouched down.
His fingertips were icy, but he didn't directly touch me. "The pain from rejecting a fated mate shouldn't fall on you alone."
I lowered my gaze to my wrist.
The cracked mate mark looked like a pale gray snake, curled up under my skin.
"Doesn't it hurt Ryan?" Sevian looked up at me.
"It does," I said. "But Alphas are better at acting tough than Omegas."
I couldn't even explain why, but I suddenly felt like laughing.
I let out a laugh, but before I knew it, tears were already falling.
Sevian didn't look at my tears.
He just took out a slender black dagger and placed it on the table. "A blood bond can help ease your pain for a while."
My whole body went rigid.
He drew his hand back right away. "But I don't recommend you make the blood bond right now."
I looked at him. "Why?"
"Because you've just been rejected by your fated mate.
"Right now, making any kind of deal would feel like taking advantage of you."
He slid a piece of parchment across the table to me. It listed the pros and cons of a blood bond.
Strength shared. Mind link. Protection from sunlight. And the pain that could hit when the bond was severed.
Everything was laid out, no secrets, no fine print.
My fingers brushed the edge of the parchment. For a moment, I couldn't help but think that the dangerous Lord from all those old stories seemed more human to me than the Alpha I'd stood by for three years.
The fire crackled in the hearth.
Rain leaked through the roof, cold water dripping from the rafters and splashing right at my feet.
I instinctively shrank back.
Sevian saw it.
He didn't ask if I was in pain, didn't try to pull me into his arms.
He simply stood up, took the only blanket in the old cabin that was still clean, and warmed it by the fire.
When it was cozy enough, he placed it down next to me.
He didn't drape it over my shoulders. He just set it within reach, so I could take it if I wanted.
His gesture was so gentle that it sent a pang through my chest.
Ryan had given me things before, too.
Blood-soaked rags after the full moon. Old, torn mate bond scrolls. And always, the same line—"You handle it."
Everything he gave me was just another mess for me to clean up.
But Sevian gave me a blanket—something gentle, a kindness I didn't have to repay right away.
*****
That night, Sevian didn't sleep.
He sat by the fireplace, sorting through the Sacred Spring files for me.
When I was feverish and drifting in and out of consciousness, I heard Sevian murmur, "Evelyn, do you want to go back there?"
I kept my eyes shut. In my mind, I saw the icy floor of the Council Hall, Vera's mocking smile, and Ryan saying to me, "Don't make a scene."
I said, "I do."
Sevian's hand stilled on the page.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. "Not going back to them. I want to go back to get the evidence."