Violet blinked awake slowly, her vision swimming before settling on the gilded ceiling above her.

Her brows furrowed. Where the heck was she? The last thing she remembered....

"You’re awake."

Violet sat up with a jerk at the familiar voice in her head.

Wait a minute—In her head?

The sound of Asher’s rich, amused laughter followed almost immediately. "You should see the priceless look on your face trying to figure it out, love."

Violet let out a sharp breath as Asher stepped out from the shadows gathered at the corner of the room, where the moonlight couldn’t quite reach.

"It’s me, my purple queen," he said aloud this time.

For a moment, Violet simply gawked at him, her mind struggling to catch up with what she was seeing.

Asher stood there like he had stepped straight out of a fever dream.

He was dressed in a black linen robe paired with matching trousers, the fabric loose on his frame. The robe hung open untied, revealing the hard lines of his chest and the toned planes of his stomach.

The darkness clung to him, brushing against his skin, making the sharp cut of his jaw and the dark fall of his hair look even more dangerous. Even his familiar slitted eyes seemed deeper now like something about him had changed.

Violet couldn’t help but practically drool over him, until she remembered that wasn’t the most important thing right now. She immediately got out of the bed and ran toward him, slamming into him as she hugged him.

"Tell me I’m not dreaming right now," Violet said with sudden desperation, hugging him tightly, afraid this might all be a dream and he’d vanish if she dared let go.

Asher smiled down at her. "You’re not dreaming, my purple queen."

Violet let out a shaky gasp. "It worked," she muttered.

It was true. She wasn’t dreaming. Asher was standing right in front of her.

She reached up tentatively, her hands brushing his face, then his neck, down to his chest, and back to his face again, as if confirming he was real.

"I watched you die," Violet’s voice cracked, tears gathering in her eyes. "I watched you die, Asher."

"And you brought me back," Asher said, pride lacing his voice. "You’re a stubborn woman, aren’t you, Violet Purple."

At first, the relief had been overwhelming, but now that she knew he wasn’t disappearing, anger took over.

"You fucking maniac!" She hit him hard in the chest.

"Ow," Asher winced.

But Violet didn’t care. She hit him again, harder this time, both hands striking his chest. "How could you do that to me?! You fucking slit your throat right in front of me?!"

"I know," Asher sighed. "But it was the only way. You don’t understand, that thing was in my head and I could have hurt—"

"I don’t care!" Violet screamed.

For a moment, her chest rose and fell heavily as she glared at him. Asher said nothing, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Then the floodgates broke. Every emotion she had buried in that helpless moment came rushing back.

"I thought I lost you forever!" Violet sobbed, the tears spilling uncontrollably.

"Goddess, no." Horror filled Asher’s expression, his chest tightening painfully at the sight of her breaking. That had never been his intention.

"Baby girl, no," he tried, reaching for her, but it was too late.

"You don’t know how scared I was," Violet cried. "It hurt so much I felt like I was dying. I can’t live without you, Asher Nightshade."

"Fuck," Asher muttered, pulling her into a tight embrace, holding her so close it was hard to breathe.

But neither of them cared.

"I’m so sorry, Violet. I’m so sorry," Asher repeated, his voice breaking as he held her. "It’s never going to happen again. I swear it. Not even death will separate us again."

This time, he meant it. Because now, his heart would only stop beating when hers did. They were bound for life.

Asher’s hand moved slowly over Violet’s back in steady, grounding strokes, never rushing her, never pushing her to stop.

"Let it out," he whispered. "It’s okay, I’ve got you."

And she did.

All of it spilled out, every ounce of frustration, fear, and desperation that had once choked her. Asher simply held her, steady and unyielding, letting her fall apart in his arms without a word, until the storm raging inside her eased and her sobs gradually turned into uneven breaths.

Only then did Asher pull back, tilting her head so she met his gaze as he said through clenched teeth, "Cursed be the day I’m ever the reason a single tear falls from your eyes..."

He completed it not just in the Fae tongue, but in her head.

"Mo bhanríon chorcra."

My purple queen.

Violet’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Since when have you been learning the Fae tongue?" she replied mentally, taken aback by the ease of the communication.

Asher grinned. "You’d be surprised the lengths I can go."

"No, I’m out." She rebutted.

The meaning was clear. He had gone as far as slitting his throat to protect her, nothing else could compare.

Then Violet stepped back, finally taking in their surroundings. Though it was dark, she saw clearly with her Fae eyes, taking in the spacious expanse of the luxurious room before her.

It had large, arched windows where moonlight spilled through in silver streams, casting soft patterns across the polished patterned floors, and a connecting balcony where most of the light filtered in.

The room itself spoke of wealth with the carved pillars lining the walls, their surfaces etched with Fae runes, and rich drapes hung untouched by dust. It would have felt like the palace except she had never seen this place before.

"Where are we?" Violet croaked.

Asher replied, "The pixies led us to an unoccupied Fae manor. Somewhere we could... bond properly."

It was the way he said it that made Violet suddenly feel parched.

She had tried to ignore the heat simmering beneath her skin but the shock of seeing him alive had drowned everything else out. Now, with nothing left to distract her, it came rushing back stronger and hotter. Her skin burned with it.

Only then did Violet glance down and froze. She was dressed in a white, sheer nightwear. That was not what she had been wearing.

Her head snapped up to Asher, alarm flashing across her face. "Who undressed me?"

Asher looked at her, almost lazily. "Is that what you should be worried about...?"

Violet held his gaze and got caught in it. Those slitted gray eyes had darkened, something dangerous and consuming flickering within them, and her heart stuttered.

He tilted his head slightly, voice dropping.

"...especially knowing I’ll tear them off in our frenzy-induced mating."

Violet swallowed. Hard.

"You know how long I’ve waited for this moment, my love," Asher murmured, stepping toward her, slowly and deliberately like a predator that already knew there was no escape.

Badum. Badum. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

Violet didn’t know why she was stepping back, only that the look in his eyes promised destruction. And somehow,

that both thrilled and terrified her.

Violet’s eyes flashed as Thalia surged forward, her presence swallowing Violet whole as her voice slipped into the bond, smooth and dangerous.

’Then let’s make it a game, mate.’

Across from her, Asher stilled and then his own eyes flashed too as his own wolf answered.

Wraith. She finally knew his name.

’As you wish, my queen.’

The response wasn’t playful and was full of dark intent. Inside, Violet’s panic spiked.

What the hell are these animals doing?

But she couldn’t move or speak, not to mention stop their morbid plan. Her body no longer belonged to her.

In her mind, Thalia smiled—a slow, wicked curve of her lips—and Violet heard her voice again, dripping with challenge.

’Catch me if you can... and pour your wrath on me.’

What the—?

Violet was completely thrown.

It was a known fact you did not provoke a wolf like this. Not unless you wanted to awaken their feral side, the one that fed on their most primal instincts.

"Thalia, stop—!" Violet tried but it was already too late.

Her body had already turned and she ran out the door, down the hallway. She was fast like a prey who knew exactly what hunted it.

Behind her was a growl that didn’t just echo through the manor, no, it shook it.

Wraith had taken over and he was no longer patient.

The air shifted, thick with intent, heavy with something ancient and territorial.

The hunt had begun.

Violet could feel Thalia’s wild and unhinged laughter echoing in her head as she ran through the unfamiliar manor, turning corners blindly with no idea where she was going. And Thalia loved it.

Run, her wolf purred, delighted.

Behind her was the heavy, relentless pounding of footsteps. Wraith was furiously chasing her, sending a shiver down her spine.

Then just at that moment when Violet needed the wolf to take responsibility for the fire she had started, Thalia suddenly receded and control snapped back.

"What—?! No, no, no!" Violet gasped, stumbling before forcing herself forward again.

"That crazy motherfucker," she cursed under her breath, panicking. Now it was just her.

Her body. And the crazy choice Thalia had made.

And unfortunately, a very provoked, possessive, and horny wolf was right on her heels.