Kaden had thought that severing the mate bond would bring relief and free him from the constant pull toward Ava that threatened to compromise his mission.
Instead, it felt like he had carved out a piece of his own soul and left it bleeding in a Lowtown alley.
He made it back to his small apartment on the edge of the merchant district before the shaking started.
His hands trembled as he tried to light a lamp, the match slipping from his fingers twice before he finally managed to get the flame lit.
The warm glow did nothing to chase away the cold emptiness that had settled in his chest.
Kaden sank into a chair and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, trying to block out the memory of Ava's face as she fell.
The sound of her cries. The desperate way she had called his na
