Insecurities.

Ariel.

I couldn't sleep all night. Worry gnawed at me, and my mind was a whirlwind of terrible thoughts.

Magnus had instructed me to stay in my room while he was away to handle the rogues trying to breach our borders, but how could I? Every fiber of my being was attuned to him, the mate bond pulling me in ways I couldn’t resist.

Every passing hour stretched into an eternity, and I couldn’t shake the images of him or the warriors being hurt—or worse.

Especially when I can help them.

Eventually, I gave up trying to sleep. I couldn’t bear staying in the suffocating silence of my room any longer.

As I stepped into the quiet corridors of the pack house, the faint metallic scent of blood lingered in the air, a haunting reminder of wounded warriors being tended to by pack nurses outside.

My heart sank w……