The mate bond was a curse.

That was the only explanation I could cling to as I pressed my back against the cool wood of my bedroom door, chest rising and falling too fast.

My heart battering like some wild animal trying to escape its cage. My hand trembled where it clutched the knob. As though I could lock him out of my thoughts.

My veins, my very soul, but it was indeed useless; even here alone in the dimness, I could still feel him.

His presence burned inside me like embers, refusing ...