Alana's POV
I never thought the silence between us could feel this calm. It used to stretch like a blade, sharp and dangerous, pressing against the side of my throat with every step he took near me. But now… it feels quiet after a storm. The kind where the air still smells of rain, the ground is wet with the weight of what's passed, but there's sunshine trying to break through the clouds. I walk beside Adrian, no longer afraid to glance at him—to see him. His jaw is tense, yes, but his eyes aren't cold. They shift when he looks at me, like he's trying to memorize the way my expression changes. I can still feel the echo of that moment in the woods—the way my fear had reached him through something invisible, primal, and unspoken. No one had ever felt my pain like that. No one had ever shown up like that. Maybe it was the bond. Or maybe, just maybe, it was him.
