Cat began to feel the stirrings of something he hadn’t felt in years—restlessness. The peace he had found with Adelais was undeniable, but deep down, J. Cat knew that settling into this life wasn’t in his nature. His past had shaped him into a man who thrived in the shadows, a man who found purpose in the chase, in the hunt.

One evening, as they sat by the fire, the warmth of the flames dancing in their eyes, J. Cat reached out to take Adelais’s hand. She looked at him with a smile, but there was a question in her gaze—a question she hadn’t dared to ask but one that had been growing with each passing day.