Xavier
Mate.
The word hit me like a punch to the chest.
The moment her skin brushed against mine just a fingertip, a barely-there touch I felt it. The warmth. The electricity. The unmistakable pull of the mate bond.
And it terrified me.
Not because it wasn’t real.
But because it was.
I froze, staring at her at Seraphina as the word echoed in my mind.
“Mate,” I whispered again, voice hoarse.
Her eyes widened. She looked just as shocked. She pulled her hand back like I had burned her, clutching it to her chest.
“I... what did you say?” she asked, her voice trembling.
But I knew she felt it too.
I could see it in the way her breath caught. In the way her pulse jumped in her throat. In the way she stared at me like I’d just flipped her entire world upside down.
I stepped back, my
