Chapter 19

Regan stands on a slick cliff at Springrise, feeling battered by Viktor’s escalating cruelty after she confronted him. She dwells on her isolation, the hidden bruises beneath her high collars, and her shame for longing to see Kage, the only one who knows the truth.

Kage arrives first as a playful wolf, then as a man. In tense conversation, Kage challenges Regan about Viktor’s abuse and her family’s silence; Regan admits Persis is held as leverage. She confesses self-blame for complying, but Kage reframes her endurance as survival, vows not to let Viktor break her, and catches her when she slips near the edge.

As they walk toward the castle, Regan probes Kage’s future. He reveals a coming ball to announce his arranged betrothal to Florence Shen, framed as offering her protection and House advantage. The news wounds Regan, who masks jealousy with scorn, imagining Kage with Florence and pulling away.

Kage seizes her arm and pleads for acknowledgment of a powerful pull, claiming a wolf’s certainty of a true mate. Regan, recognizing how unfair and impossible it is given his betrothal and her captivity, rejects the claim. She ends the encounter with a cutting dismissal and returns alone to the castle.