“I can feel you.”
My hands curled into fists.
Of course she could.
The bond was no longer subtle.
It had grown stronger with every hour I denied it.
With every step I took away from her.
Distance did not weaken it.
It sharpened it.
Made it ache.
“I don’t understand it,” she continued, voice quieter now, raising her hand to her chest. “But it’s right here. I can feel you right here.”
She thumped her hand once upon her breast and fuck me, my knees almost buckled.
Yes, I wanted to scream.
Yes, it is right there.
And it will ruin us both.
I closed my eyes instead.
Just for a moment.
Just long enough to gather the strength to leave.
Because if I stayed—if I stepped out, if I looked at her the way I wanted to—there would be no going back.
I had already told her.
Already marked the path.
Fated mate.
The words had sealed something ancient.
Irreversible.
And I—I did not trust myself to survive it.
Or her.
I turned.
Silently.
Stepping away from the corridor.
From her.
From the pull that threatened to drag me back.
