Page 11 of Savage Crown

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‘If I did not like you using it, I would have said so,’she told me.

Warmth spread beneath my ribs.

Before I could reply, Godric stopped at a large tent’s opening. A familiar voice drifted out, low and steady.

Kaelric.

My knees nearly buckled.

I had forgotten how simply hearing him could undo me.

“Alpha?” Godric called.

“Come in,” Kaelric answered. His tone was calm, controlled. “You’re dismissed,” he added to someone inside.

A female soldier brushed past us, papers tucked under her arm, barely glancing our way.

Godric stepped inside first. I followed, keeping him between me and Kaelric like a shield. My palms dampened.

Creator help me.

Three months had passed.

Three months of silence.

Three months of wondering.

Kaelric had become every good memory and every painful one all at once.

“Any trouble on the road?” Kaelric asked.

“No, sir,” Godric replied.

“Alright. Thank you, Uncle.”

Uncle. I swallowed. I kept forgetting they were family.

Godric turned toward me, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“If you need anything, I am in tent number three.”

I nodded, grateful. Then, he slipped out.

Leaving me alone with Kaelric.

I stared at the dirt floor, not daring to meet his eyes. My heart hammered. I heard him move; footsteps came toward me.

“You look healthy. Like you have been eating well.”

I laughed, surprising myself. But when I finally looked up, the laughter caught in my throat. His gaze wasn’t locked onmine. He was staring at Valkaryn, pain etched across his face, sharp enough to slice.

“Obsessed with food,” I teased, trying to ease the tension.

“Obsessed withyourfood,” he muttered.

Heat crawled up my neck.

“Why am I here?”

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