LYRA’S POV
The words hung in the air between us. Mate bond. Fated. All of us.
For a second, my brain just… stopped. It refused to process the sheer insanity of what he’d just said. Then, like a dam breaking, it all crashed in.
A sharp, ugly laugh tore out of my throat. “You’re lying.”
“Lyra—” Jeremy tried to step closer.
“Don’t!” I stumbled back, my shoulder hitting the door frame hard. “You’re lying! This is another game. Another way to control me. A ‘mate bond’? Are you even hearing yourselves? You sound insane!”
Silas stood from behind his desk, his face like stone. “It’s the truth.”
“The truth?” I screamed, the sound raw and scraping. My voice bounced off the book-lined walls. “The truth is you kidnapped me! You brought me here, you’ve watched me, you’ve… you’ve touched me, you’
