The road to Xavier's packland was lined with gnarled trees and fog that clung like whispers to their cloaks. Adrianna walked beside Acantha in silence for a while, her leather boots crunching on the damp forest floor. Behind them, the dark forest yawned like a past neither of them wanted to revisit, and before them lay the border of a land steeped in memory and blood.
Acantha cleared her throat softly. "You're quiet."
Adrianna glanced sideways. "I'm thinking."
Acantha let a beat pass. Then she said, without looking at her, "Do you still love him?"
Adrianna's brows lifted in surprise. "Who?"
"Xavier."
A sharp breath left Adrianna's lungs, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Love?" She shook her head. "No. I never did."
Acantha looked at her now, frowning. "But… you were his mate."
