Chapter 446:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

I had noticed it during the night, but I hadn’t had the strength to study them properly. They no longer looked quite like the runes I had carried before. The lines now stretched from the mark near my wrist toward my elbow, branching like delicate roots beneath my skin before disappearing under the sleeve of my nightdress. When I placed my hand against Nero’s chest, one of those lines pulsed.

I frowned and lifted my arm closer to the candlelight. The rune pulsed again, in time with my heartbeat. My breath caught. I touched the center of my chest and felt my heart beating beneath my palm. Then I touched the rune, and another pulse answered.

“What happened to you?” I whispered.

Parrot stirred inside me. We changed.

What do you mean, we changed?

𝗧𝗁е 𝘣𝖾ѕ𝘵 𝘳𝗲vі𝗲𝘄s 𝗼𝗻 𝗀𝖺ln𝘰𝗏𝘦𝘭s.𝘤𝘰𝗆

The bond.

I looked at Nero. The connection between us felt different now. Before, it had been a pull, a distant thread, something I felt whenever he was close or whenever danger touched him. Now it ran deeper. I could feel his heartbeat beneath mine. I could sense when his breathing changed. I could feel the faint ache in his muscles even while he slept. And somehow, my runes were responding to all of it.

I gently placed my palm against his chest again. He moved, and my eyes widened. “Nero.”

His eyes opened slightly. “Hmm?”

“You’re awake.”

A weak smile touched his lips, and I almost laughed with relief. “How do you feel?”

“Like I was hit by a carriage.”

I brushed the hair away from his forehead. “Your fever is still high.”

His eyes closed again. “The curse is gone. You should be happy.”

“I am.”

“Then stop looking at me like I’m dying.”

My throat tightened. “Don’t joke about that.”

His eyes opened once more. This time he looked directly at me, and despite how weak he was, something warm passed through the bond. “I’ll be fine.”

He held my gaze a moment longer before his eyes drifted shut. I smiled despite myself and pressed a fresh cloth to his forehead.

The door opened, and I turned. Bram stood there. He took one look at me sitting beside Nero’s bed, then at the untouched food on the table and the dark circles beneath my eyes.

“Remi. You look like death. How long have you been awake?”

“I’m fine.”

Bram walked inside and looked at Nero. “How is he?”

“He has a fever.” I glared at him.

Bram shrugged. “He’s the Dark Alpha.” He pulled a chair closer and sat opposite me. “The curse was inside him for years, Remi. His body has been fighting something that never should have been there. Now it’s gone, and he’s exhausted, dehydrated, and probably malnourished after years of burning energy against something that was slowly destroying him. His wolf is exhausted too.”

I looked at Nero.

Bram’s voice softened. “He needs rest.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to leave him.”

“You aren’t leaving him. I’m asking you to leave this room for an hour.”

I looked at him.

Bram sighed. “Gemma is awake. She’ll sit with him. I’ll stay too, if you want. He won’t be alone.” My eyes dropped to Nero’s hand, and Bram leaned forward. “You broke the curse, Remi. You brought him back. Let someone else keep watch for a while.”

.

.

.