Page 41 of Before the Bond Breaks
We joined the others at the edge of the portal. The hum of magic vibrated in my teeth, the air already bending around the mass of bodies pressing close for escape.
Before we stepped through, I pulled Maze tight against my chest, breath warm in her hair.
“Balder got away.”
Maze didn’t hesitate. “We’ll get him.”
That we would. Maybe not today or next week, but we would stop him.
We stepped through the blue light, the rest of our team closing ranks behind. The world shifted, leaving the warehouse’s pain and ruin behind.
But the promise of the hunt burned in the space between every heartbeat.
Maze’s hand locked in mine, and I squeezed her fingers.
The war wasn’t over. But tonight, we’d taken a piece back.
22
MAZE
Night had fallenwhen we walked through the portal and came out in the center of the Steele Clan compound. The courtyard sprawled wide, stone set in circles that echoed out from the fire pit at its heart. Moonlight picked out the battered bodies of shifters and Valkyries, scattered across the space like survivors of a siege.
Valkyries slumped in loose huddles, their skin streaked with dried blood. Some bandaged one another, others braced against stone benches, eyes hollow but unbroken. The shifters gathered near the fire. Every face marked with a fresh wound or the distant stare that came after violence.
A handful of my sisters moved through the crowd, hands aglow with healing magic. Rina leaned over a groaning shifter, her palm pressed to a gash that curled over his ribs. Sybil conjured a thin thread of blue stitching to close the slash on Nicky’s thigh.
Winter and Candra stood just off to the side, eyes sweeping the crowd. Winter’s face looked drawn, the skin under her eyes shadowed with fatigue. Candra tracked every movement,posture still rigid from battle. They kept their distance, but it was the kind of vigilance that never truly shut off.
Talon broke off from my side the instant we landed, already moving to check his kin. His steps carried the ghost of battlefield urgency. I watched him cross to Shaw, who nursed a twisted arm, and saw the tension radiating through his shoulders as he braced the wound and checked it himself before letting Sybil set the bone. He spoke to them in low, clipped sentences, never once letting his guard drop even as the wounds closed under quick, expert hands.
He made his way through the crowd like a force of nature—never rushed, never soft, but always present. The way his hand landed on the back of a shifter’s neck, thumb digging in just enough to pull focus and calm the beast beneath the skin. Each man he touched looked him in the eye. My chest tightened as I watched him. This was the Alpha in his element, responsible for every soul under the moon and never once letting the distance grow.
Around us, the wounded settled. Groans faded into the low mutter of conversation as the worst of the blood disappeared beneath the blue-white shimmer of Valkyrie magic. Even the most stubborn shifters stopped resisting when Rina or Sybil crouched beside them, muttering old words that forced flesh to knit and bruises to fade.
I stood in the shadow of an arch that overlooked the courtyard. I couldn’t drag my eyes from my mate. There in the bloody aftermath, among the men he’d nearly died to protect, Talon carried battle on his skin like it belonged to him.
He turned and found me instantly. Amber eyes locked on mine, fierce and bright despite the bruises lining his jaw. The air between us tightened, but no one else existed in that moment.Just me and the Alpha, who’d always known how to look past the mask I wore for everyone outside my inner circle.
Something inside me snapped. No more hiding behind ritual or purpose where I pretended my heart beat only for the cause.
Every step across the courtyard felt deliberate, senses tuned to the taste of his attention. The bonfire flared as I passed, throwing harsh light up over the faces that turned to follow my path.
My sisters noticed first. Candra’s eyes narrowed, reading the current of will that drove me toward Talon. Winter glanced at her, lips twitching in a smile that threatened to break free. Jenson and Larc waited near the far side, both clocking the shift in the room: Jenson’s eyes full of wry understanding, Larc’s eyebrow arched as if to say he’d seen this coming from the start.
I reached Talon and stopped inches from him. “I want you. Not just as a strategic mate, or to complete some ritual.” I forced the words out, throat rough. “I’ve loved you since we were young on Vanaheim.”
The world stood still for a breath.
The sharpness in his expression softened, replaced by something raw and so open it nearly dropped me to my knees. He reached for my hand, palm rough and alive with memory, and caught my fingers in his. The contact sent the ghost of a lightning strike all the way down my arm.
His mouth curved, not quite a smile. There was nothing tactical in his response—just the truth. “I’ve loved you since we first met as teenagers. When you ordered me around and I pretended like it wasn’t the hottest thing ever.”
I felt the heat burn up my cheeks, but I didn’t look away.
Jenson barked a short laugh, shaking his head at the obviousness. Larc made a sound—half scoff, half resigned chuckle—and folded his arms as if this confession proved every suspicion he’d ever had. From the sidelines, Candra and Winter swapped glances. Their faces went slack with surprise for a heartbeat, then both grinned, not even bothering to cover their satisfaction.
The rest of the clan caught on quickly. Some straightened from their seats, eyes wide. Others smirked, passing comment without a word. For the first time, I didn’t care what anyone thought.
