ARIA
Dinner with Elara ended quietly, and I went back to my room drained. Every step felt heavy. When I closed the door, the emptiness greeted me, and I was grateful for it. No voices. No expectations.
Since learning what was wrong with me, I had not had a moment alone. Everything had moved too fast. Now the silence pressed in, and my chest tightened. The truth settled deeper. All I wanted was to fold in on myself and cry until the ache dulled.
My wolf would never reach for me. There would be no link. No warmth in my mind. No sense of being whole. A mating bond was never going to happen. I would never feel that pull others talked about. I would never lean on an alpha and feel safe doing it.
Only one of those losses cut deep. Not finding my mate. The rest felt distant. Bonding with a
