"He was losing. My mate was losing."

My chest squeezed so tight I thought I might suffocate, every breath a conscious battle against the iron bands of panic wrapping around my ribs. The mate bond pulsed with waves of agony that had nothing to do with physical pain and everything to do with watching the other half of my soul being systematically destroyed.

The sand beneath Darius's knees was already dark with blood, the crimson drops catching the torchlight like scattered rubies. The ...