44. Cillian

I’m halfway to being sane again. Her tiny hand in mine. She’s safe, and we’re going to be okay.

I have no doubt in my mind that facing down my anger, my pain and embarrassment and choosing not to kill was the fork in the road Zena warned me about. For if I had harmed her, that would have been the end of my sanity.

There would have been no coming back from that. Not in a million years. Even with Vez restored I would have been a wrecked shell. I know in my soul that making a mistake as vile as killing my own mate would have left me uncontrollable. I’d have wanted to main and destroy everything linked to my catastrophe.

But thanks to my father’s wisdom, my mother’s kind heart and the Betas who have guided me through my life I was just, only just, able to see beyond the hate.

The raw pink of her skin where the tape had been felt like my own stab wounds. Lookiny at each red welt made my guts churn. All the hate that swelled within has been replaced with a desperate desire to make our