Page 117 of Bitten By Magic

Instead, I make a decision.

I’ll file the report. I’ll hand over the footage, the names, the circle’s bare mechanics. Let them hurl every sanction at Meredith and her cronies. When the Council starts circling for a scapegoat?—

They can have me.

I once mocked the Alpha Prime who swore he’d burn the world for his mate; her nature was twisted by magic—‘unnatural,’ I said. No woman merited such abasement.

Yet here I am. The greater fool.

I lift my face to the sky.

Run as far as you like, Harper House,I think, and I let the vow settle.

I will find you. I will level every barrier between you and safety and prove I am someone to run towards, not away from.

Arthur croaks once—soft, certain. My heartbeat steadies for the first time since she vanished.

I turn back to the chaos, towards the guards, prisoners, and the ringing phone that links to the Council chamber. Arguments will fly; clever men will claim they understand. Let them talk.

I have work.

And when it’s done—when Meredith is cuffed, the paperweights are dust, and the Council have convinced themselves they’ve cleaned up their mess—I’ll start the next job.

Finding my Harper.