The Wall sammy was low, just watching the show

he shook his head, a newfound wave of shame washing hotly over him. "no. i tracked her scent to the moonspear border. their alpha female told me that her mate had run her off, and she had not been seen since. she had reason to believe the rogue went far--perhaps, i thought, over the barrier mountains."

you should have waited for me. shame, and now guilt, too. "that, i am also sorry for," adi continued, his voice hoarse. "you have the right to revenge on this woman. much more so than me."

aditya saw the horror that had sprung to her eyes upon his admission, and could have kicked himself for it. for so long, he had been the easy-going, charming, kind man she had met by the riverside and had fallen in love with over time. now, she had seen this side of him--dormant for so long, perhaps for his entire existence. . .but awake, now, with fury.

"i have only killed once," he told her, his memories digging up the visceral images from that particular scene in his life. "in self-defense. he went for my throat; i ripped his belly open with my claws." he had been young, not quite a yearling, and still recalled the absolutely horrified shock that had rippled through his system as the young man's blood spilled over his paws, his chest.

"if i would kill for myself, i would kill a hundred times over for you and yours," aditya whispered. "i was crazed with vengeance. maaf karo, mere pyaar--forgive me."