Lucien stayed only until dawn of the next day. He did not want to leave.
Devon could see it in the way his fingers lingered on his cheek, in the way his wolf's scent clung to the sheets, in the way he looked back again and again at the balcony door, as though memorizing every breath Devon took.
But duty called him home. A pack could not be left leaderless, not even for love.
"Meet me regularly," Lucien murmured before he left, shadowed beneath the hood of his illusion cloak. "I don't care how far this place is or what rules your clan has. I will come to visit Elias and you."
Devon nodded, heart stuttering. "I will… try."
Lucien's lips twitched, half smile, half ache. "Don't try. Do it. I can't lose you twice."
And then, he disappeared into the fading mist.
The Magnus territory's progress would not stop for heartbreak or longing.
