Chapter 102: It Always Ends the Same - Riven's POV

For a moment, I froze.

Not because I didn’t want to kiss her. I felt the opposite. The bond was surging within me and I felt her need to be close. I had been held back for far too long and with her asking for a kiss, I didn’t know what to do with it.

Did that mean I should kiss her? Did she want to so soon after reuniting?

“Callista…” I started, but my voice was already rough.

She tilted her head up, her fingers curling slightly into the fabric of my shirt. “What is it?”

My hands came up slowly, giving her plenty of time to say no. But she didn’t. They settled at her waist, firm and grounding, but there was nothing steady about the way the bond reacted.

“You don’t understand what you’re asking for,” I whispered. “I’ve waited so long.”

“I do,” she said softly. “It’s been over a year without you, Riven. I understand exactly what I’m asking for.”

That was all it took.

Something in my face shifted, but I held whatever it was back. If it was the demon or the wolf, I didn’t know. My hand slid up her side, then to her face, my thumb brushing against her cheek, because I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

Because before, I had been. The demon haunted me like this. I’d dream about her, having her in my arms, then she would be gone. Sometimes I’d get to kiss her once before I’d find her body hanging limply in my arms.

Nightmares. That’s what I had. But even now, knowing that this was dangerous, I still couldn’t stop myself from leaning in.

The moment my lips touched hers, the bond snapped tight.

Nothing about it was soft or hesitant. It was everything we had been holding back, crashing together all at once. Her breath caught against my lips as my grip tightened, pulling her closer. I was afraid that any moment now my eyes would open and this would all be one of those nightmares again.

A quiet sound slipped from her lips as her hands moved to my shoulders. She pressed herself into me. The world outside of this room completely vanished. There was no mansion, no training, no Alpha King, and most certainly, no demon lurking in my mind.

I shoved everything away. There was only her.

The bond flared, warm and overwhelming, flooding through me in a way that made my head spin. I wanted more. This was more than just our emotions. It was a relief at being together once more. It was a deep, aching need that finally was met after being starved for far too long.

I deepened the kiss, unable to help myself. My control didn’t stand much of a chance to begin with. My hand slid to the back of her neck, holding her there, because letting go wasn’t an option.

She sank into me completely before her body went rigid.

I pulled back slightly, my breathing uneven as I pressed our foreheads together. My grip never loosened, because I wasn’t ready to let go yet.

“That…” she breathed, her voice barely steady. “That’s what was supposed to happen.”

A faint huff escaped me. “Yeah,” I murmured. “It was.”

We stayed like that for a second longer before I finally forced myself to step back. The second I did, the bond stretched between us. It wasn’t painful this time.

“I should—” I started, then stopped, glancing toward the door again. For a moment, I couldn’t help but stare as I was certain we were forgetting something. Then it hit me. She came with a bag. “Your bag is on the training field, isn’t it?”

She blinked. “That’s right. I left…it on the training field.”

I nodded once, already moving. “You can take the shower. I’ll go get it.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I know,” I cut in, softer now. “I want to.”

She clamped her lips shut as I paused at the door, my hand resting on the handle. My eyes met hers, then dragged over her one more time.

“Don’t go anywhere. I expect to talk when I get back.”

Her lips parted slightly. “Where do you think I’ll go? I just got here.”

“Still,” I muttered. “Stay.”

I slipped out before she responded.

As soon as I stepped outside, the night air hit me sharper than before. I barely noticed the coolness.

My focus was already locked on the training grounds, on the spot where she had been standing, and where she had dropped her bag like nothing else mattered.

Like I mattered.

My jaw tightened as I crossed the distance quickly, my boots pressing into the worn dirt I knew too well. The field was empty now. Everyone had gone inside.

I slowed. A figure stood at the far edge of the grounds, just beyond the tree line. I didn’t need to see his face to know who it was.

Raze.

He leaned against one of the trees as if he had all the time in the world, his posture relaxed, but there was nothing casual about the way his gaze was fixed on me.

He was waiting and watching.

My grip tightened around the strap of Callista’s bag as I bent to pick it up, but I didn’t take my eyes off him.

He smiled. Even from this distance, I could see it. That same unsettling, knowing grin that never quite reached his eyes.

“Well,” he called out, his voice carrying too easily through the quiet. “That didn’t take long.”

I straightened slowly, the weight of the bag in my hand grounding me just enough.

“Go back inside, Raze,” I said flatly.

He pushed off the tree, taking a step forward, just enough to show he wasn’t planning on listening. “I felt it, you know,” he continued, tapping lightly against his chest. “That little reunion of yours. It’s stronger now.”

My jaw clenched. “Don’t.”

But he only laughed softly, as if I had said something amusing instead of threatening.

“Do you really think this is going to end differently?” He asked, his head tilting slightly. “You pull her back in, you get closer, you let that bond grow…” His smile widened. “He loves that.”

The words hit, sharp and immediate.

The demon stirred.

I shoved it down hard, my grip tightening on the bag as I forced my control back into place. “You don’t know anything,” I said, my voice colder now.

Raze’s expression didn’t change. “Don’t I? Just look at me.”

Silence stretched between us, thick and heavy.

Then he shrugged lightly, as if none of this really mattered to him. “Enjoy it while you can, brother,” he added, almost casually. “Moments like that don’t last long for us.”

Something in my chest twisted at that, but I didn’t let it show.

“Go inside,” I repeated.

This time, he didn’t argue.

He just smiled one last time, slower now, before turning and disappearing into the shadows of the trees as if he had never been there at all.

The field fell quiet again. I stood there for a second longer, my pulse still too fast, the echo of his words lingering longer than I wanted it to. Then I looked down at the bag in my hand.

Callista’s.

The bond pulsed again, softer now.

“If staying away from her was the only way to keep her alive…” I muttered under my breath, the words feeling just as heavy now as they had a year ago.

Then my jaw tightened.

“…then I would.”

But I was already turning back toward the mansion.

And this time, I wasn’t walking away from her, because deep down, I knew that if that day ever came when I did lose myself to the demon, I would track her down. I would save her for last, just as I had in that vision I gave her.