Therrin's POV
The morning broke like a sigh against my skin.
Warmth curled around me, heavy and protective, not from sunlight, but from the body draped behind mine. His. Ciaran's. His hand rested low on my abdomen, fingers relaxed in sleep, but the weight of him grounded me. I didn't remember falling asleep—just shadows and heat and whispered promises.
Now, I stirred.
I could feel again. Not just the physical warmth of him or the breath on my neck, but something inside me. Something tethered. A quiet vibration deep beneath the skin. It hummed through me in time with the steady rhythm of his heart. Bonded. The thought came unbidden, but it didn't feel wrong.
Ciaran moved behind me, shifting closer, his lips brushing the back of my shoulder.
"You're awake," he said, voice thick with sleep and something darker. "Good. I didn't want to leave without a taste of your thoughts."
I turned toward him slowly, uncertain. "What… do you mean?"
His hand slid up to cup my cheek. "You've opened the link more. I can feel you more clearly now."
I swallowed. "Then you know what I'm thinking?"
"Not everything. Not yet. But with time—and training—you'll learn to project or shield your thoughts. It's a skill most bonded mates never learn, but you need to."
His expression sharpened slightly, shadows gathering along the edge of his cheekbones. "Especially with him still near."
I didn't need to ask who he meant. Dion. The ache in my chest pulsed at the thought of him, but it was dimmer now, dulled by Ciaran's presence and everything we had shared in the shadows.
"How?" I asked quietly. "How do I stop people from getting in?"
Ciaran rolled onto his back and pulled me with him, so I was sprawled across his chest. One hand tangled into my hair, tugging it back gently as he looked down into my eyes.
"Like this," he said. And then I felt it.
A barrier—smooth and dark—pressed across the edge of my thoughts, almost like velvet wrapping around my mind. Gentle. Silent. It was him.
He showed me what it looked like, not with words, but with sensation. Control. Will. A whisper of shadow.
I tried to mimic it. At first, I failed. The bond flickered, too open, emotions spilling through like water in cupped hands. But he guided me, steady and firm, until I began to form my own wall. Not complete, not perfect, but mine.
"There," he murmured. "That's my girl."
Heat bloomed under my skin at the praise, soft and fierce. "This is what it means to be bonded?"
"One part of it," he said. His voice lowered, became silk and gravel. "There are many things you've yet to learn."
He rolled again, pinning me beneath him with effortless ease. His lips hovered over mine, but he didn't kiss me yet. Instead, he spoke softly into my skin.
"You know what else bonds can do?" His fingers drifted along my arm, igniting a trail of sparks. "They let us find each other. Feel each other. Heal… or destroy."
"Destroy?" I whispered.
His eyes glinted, nearly black. "A bond can be broken, Therrin. If you want it to be. Even the one you have with him."
My breath caught.
"You can teach me?"
"I can do more than teach you." He leaned in, kissed the side of my neck. "I can show you."
Ciaran's POV
She didn't know the full danger of what she asked for. Of what I was offering.
But she deserved the truth.
I didn't lie to her, not directly. I told her what she needed to hear, gave her tools to defend herself—not just from Dion, but from me, if she chose it. I hated the idea, but she had to choose me freely. Or none of this would matter.
She sat across from me now, legs crossed in the tall grass behind the veil of shadows I had woven for us. Our hidden place. No one would find us here. Not Dion. Not the Mistress. Not even Grimm.
"Again," I said.
She closed her eyes, concentrating. This time, the wall she built was stronger. I could feel it resisting my presence, and the ache of it surprised me.
I wanted back in. I wanted to feel everything.
But I smiled. "Good."
She exhaled. "It hurts, a little."
"Because it's new. You're not used to holding your mind apart. But you'll need to do more than shield. You'll need to push thoughts back if someone tries to probe. Most won't, not without cause. But bonded males?" I paused. "They get desperate."
Her lashes fluttered. "Like you?"
I moved fast—too fast for her to react—pinning her arms above her head with one hand and lowering my body to hers. I didn't crush her, just held her in place.
"Not desperate," I said, brushing my lips along her temple. "Certain. You're mine, Therrin."
She didn't argue. Instead, her walls fell, the bond opening wide. Emotion poured through it—uncertainty, desire, guilt, want, and beneath it all… trust.
I kissed her then, deep and slow. Not claiming this time. Just knowing.
Therrin's POV
The rest of the day blurred into a mixture of lessons and touches.
He taught me how to send my thoughts through the bond and listen without speaking aloud. He told me about the deep bond-magic that could allow sharing of sight, of power, even dreams. He spoke of shadow-binding, a technique of weaving your soul around another's to know if they were harmed—or touched.
"Like when Dion kissed me?" I asked softly.
His expression darkened. "Yes."
"And that can be… prevented?"
"There are ways to feel it. Ways to punish it." His voice dipped into shadow. "Do you want to learn them?"
I hesitated. Then nodded.
His satisfaction pulsed through the bond, and he drew me close again, mouth brushing my ear.
"I'll show you how to make it so that if another man lays hands on you…" He shivered against me. "I'll know it. Instantly."
I gasped. "How?"
"You'll see."
The night came fast.
I lay beside him again, the bond thrumming between us. Stronger now. Sharper. I could hear his thoughts more clearly than before. His desire. His control. His fears. His hope.
I could even hear the name he whispered when he thought I was asleep.
"My queen."
My breath caught—but I didn't let him know I heard.
I wasn't ready. Not yet. But I was close.
Closer than ever.