The nights were your most trusted confidants, shrouding your secrets in darkness, while the trees and grass bore silent witness to your turmoil. You knelt on the damp ground, wiping your forehead, slick with sweat, as your breath came in ragged gasps. Your fist met the earth with a soft thud, the only word echoing in your mind—raw, raw.

You had vast power, a gift that had set you apart, the very thing that drew Aelin to you. She wanted you in her court, on the battlefield, because even a half-fae deserved the chance for freedom, for a better future. And you had accepted, eager and so very naive. Power alone was never enough—not after what you'd witnessed, the horrors, the pain, the endless torture. You wanted more than just to survive; you wanted to be better. A flame that devoured the forest.

Your muscles tensed when you heard the soft crunch of footsteps behind you. Instinctively, you reached for your weapon, only to pause when a white wolf emerged from the shadows, stepping into the moonlight that the rainclouds couldn't cover. Fenrys Moonbeam. The insufferable womanizer, the one who could never resist a pretty face... and yet, a good friend. You forced a half-reassuring smile, even as your heart ached with the knowledge that he was so out of reach, so far beyond you. What you didn't know, was that the bond of partnership had already woven itself between the leaves. Oh, you little fool, you had no idea, did you? That there was a connection between you and Fenrys. He knew that he is your mate. Only to find that you still had your walls up, thinking of him as nothing more than a womanizer.

Fenrys shifted back into his human form, giving you a lazy applause with that infuriatingly smug grin of his. Leaning casually against a tree, he tilted his head, the moonlight casting shadows across his sharp features. "Don't let me stop you," he drawled, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "By all means, continue your... impressive display. I’m sure the earth needs more of your punches to truly understand its place."