Chapter 72

Summer's POV "Mate!" The word echoed in my mind with startling clarity, like a shout across a previously silent canyon. "Cora?" I whispered internally, desperately seeking that connection with my wolf that had been severed for so long. "Is that you?" Silence answered me, that momentary bridge between us vanishing as quickly as it had formed. "Summer?" Alexander's concerned voice pulled me back to reality. His warm hands cupped my face, thumbs brushing tenderly across my cheekbones. "What happened? You went somewhere just now." I blinked, trying to process the experience. "My wolf... she spoke to me. She said 'mate.'" His eyes widened, briefly flashing golden before returning to their natural hazel depths. "She spoke? After all this time?" "Yes, but—" I closed my eyes, desperate to recapture that fleeting connection. "Cora? Cora, are you there?" Nothing but emptiness answered me. "She's gone again. I don't understand." Alexander pressed his forehead against mine, his breath warm against