He froze the second the word left his mouth.
“Mate.”
The air between us seemed to c***k apart.
Astrid surged forward inside me so violently it nearly stole the breath from my lungs.
‘Holy s**t… Freya, is he really?’
But deep down, I already knew.
There was no other explanation for the unbearable pull between us. The way my body reacted to him before my mind could catch up. The way my soul seemed to settle every time he touched me, like it had spent years searching for something it had finally found.
‘Yes,’ Astrid whispered, her voice thick with emotion. ‘Thank the Goddess… I knew it.’
After everything.
After my father’s fists.
After being treated like property.
After almost being traded away like I was worth less than dirt.
After finding my family.
After the dreams.
After sur
