Malrik POV

I didn’t move, keeping my eyes locked on my aunt as she hovered by the doorway, torn between leaving and lingering. She had said her piece, delivered her warnings, but she wasn’t prepared for what I gave her next.

“What will it matter then, Aunty, when she is my fated mate?”

The sharp inhale she drew told me everything. Her body went rigid, her hand frozen on the doorframe, and when she turned to face me fully, the shock on her face was impossible to miss. She hadn’t ...