Chapter 41 CHAPTER 41
Sleep refused to come to Cindy after spending days in the Lycan court.
She lay still beneath soft blankets, staring at the ceiling painted silver by moonlight. The bed was warm, the air quiet, and yet her heart kept racing. Isabel snored softly by her side, oblivious of the turmoil going on in Cindy’s heart and mind.
For years she had dreamed of a place like this - safe, peaceful, beautiful. But peace, she was learning, could feel just as heavy as fear.
Maybe it was because she had never really had a home before. Not one that felt this real.
She slipped out of bed, careful not to make a sound. Isabel stirred, perhaps noting the empty space beside her even in her sleep. Then turned over and continued to sleep.
The marble floor was cool beneath Cindy’s feet. A light breeze flowed in from the open balcony, carrying the faint scent of flowers. Beyond the railing, the gardens shimmered - green and silver under the watch of the moon.
She pulled a shawl over her shoulders and stepped outside.
The gardens were quiet but alive. White blooms lined the winding paths, and small lanterns floated in the air, casting a warm glow over the hedges. A fountain murmured somewhere nearby, its water breaking the silence in soft rhythm. For a while, she simply breathed, trying to let her body believe she was safe.
Her fingers touched the pendant around her neck. Celestine had given it to her - a charm meant to protect her from the pain of the bond she still shared with Sebastian. The sharp agony that used to tear through her chest had faded since she began wearing it, but something new had taken its place. Something strange and unpredictable.
Tonight, the air seemed to hold its breath.
A small tremor moved through her, faint but familiar. She froze. The pendant warmed under her hand. The pulse grew faster, louder, until it felt like another heartbeat echoing through her own.
“Not again,” she whispered.
The warmth spread, turning into heat that coiled through her veins. Her breath caught. She knew this feeling too well - the bond reaching across distance, pulling her toward the man she wanted to forget. Sebastian.
Her knees weakened. The world wavered. She pressed her palm to the pendant, but it only throbbed harder, glowing faintly against her skin.
“Lisa,” she gasped, barely able to speak.
Her wolf’s voice stirred within her, soft and trembling. It’s him… we feel him again. Don’t fight it.
Cindy gritted her teeth, trying to breathe. The garden spun around her. Every sound faded except for the echo of that bond pulsing through her body. She stumbled toward a stone bench and clung to it for balance. The pendant pulsed once more, matching a rhythm that wasn’t hers.
“Stop,” she whispered to the night. “Please, stop.” And yet, as much as her mind wanted it to stop, her body seemed to enjoy it, every touch, the invisible mouth on her breasts, the invisible harness pressing her back – She hated it, and loved it at the same time.
A scream slipped from her lips, soft and trembling, like pleasure made into breath.
Liam was crossing the edge of the garden after finishing a late patrol when he heard her voice. A sharp cry, thin as glass. He turned, scanning the rows of glowing lanterns until he saw her.
She stood near the fountain, trembling, the pendant on her chest flickering with pale blue light.
“Lisa?” he called softly.
She didn’t answer. Her body shook, her hands gripping the chain at her throat.
He hurried forward, his strides whispering against the gravel. “Princess, what’s wrong?”
Her head jerked up. Her eyes looked wild and lost, unfocused. “I can’t…” she gasped. “It’s Sebastian...he’s…”
Her voice broke.
Liam caught her just before she collapsed. Her skin burned with fever, her pulse wild against his fingers. He held her steady, trying to understand. Whatever magic this was; it wasn’t just emotion. It was energy - raw and dangerous - pouring through her like lightning looking for ground.
“Breathe,” he said quietly, steadying her. “You’re safe here. Focus on me.”
She tried. Her breaths came shallow, her body still trembling. Through the strange haze, she felt pieces of Sebastian’s emotions bleeding through the bond - want, hunger, urgency - none of it hers, all of it too strong to bear.
She needed it to stop. She needed something real.
Without thinking, her hand rose and brushed against Liam’s chest, seeking an anchor in the world around her. She pushed her breasts against his chest and started stroking his face. Her lips hovered close, but he turned away.
Cindy caught his face between her palms, forcing his eyes to hers.
“Look at me,” she whispered, anger trembling with the fire burning inside her core. “Why do you turn from me?”
His heartbeat was calm, steady. He didn’t flinch or move away, just held her there, solid and unmoving. Even when she gasped her last as the invisible Sebastian released in Sara – Liam didn’t let go of her.
Slowly, the tremors faded. The heat drained from her body, leaving her weak and shaking.
When she finally opened her eyes again, her forehead rested against Liam’s well-built chest. The scent of steel and pine grounded her back to herself.
Her face burned. She pulled away, stumbling a step back. “Liam… Moon above, I…. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean….”
He raised a hand gently. “You don’t have to apologize. You were in pain.”
“I wasn’t,” she said quickly, then bit her lip. “Or maybe I was. I don’t know anymore.”
He studied her for a moment, calm and unreadable. “Then maybe you shouldn’t walk alone at night until we understand that pendant.”
She looked down at the small charm, its glow fading into silver. “You can’t tell my brother,” she whispered. “Please. This is so embarrassing.”
Liam’s expression softened. “If that’s what you want, I won’t tell him.”
She hesitated, then took a shaky breath. “Before Celestine gave this to me, I used to feel it every time Sebastian… every time he was with her. It was pain before... like something inside me tearing apart. She said the pendant would stop it, but now it’s different. It’s not pain anymore. It’s everything. I can feel what they feel. I can’t control it. I think it helps in some way, but in others – not so much”
Liam’s jaw tightened slightly. “Magic like that always takes a price. You didn’t choose this bond, did you?”
“No.” Her voice broke on the word. “And I hate it. I hate that even here; he can still reach me.”
He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. “Then we’ll find a way to stop it. Are you sure I can’t tell your brother? He is the king; he could be of great help.”
She shook her head quickly. “No, don’t. Promise me you won’t tell him any of this.”
His lips curved faintly. “Any of what?”
She blinked, confused, until she caught the teasing look in his eyes. It was small, but it made her laugh… weak, tired, but real.
“You’re impossible,” she said softly.
“Good,” he said with a half-smile. “You should go back inside, Princess. Keep that pendant close. Whatever curse it carries, it’s still part of you.”
She nodded. The garden was quiet again. The heat and chaos had faded, leaving only a soft chill in the air.
When she looked up, Liam was already gone, his shadow swallowed by the hedges. Only the faint sound of his steps lingered.
The thought of him, what he had just witnessed, made her cheeks burn with shame and embarrassment, and maybe something else. Somehow, she couldn’t get his breath against hers out of her mind.