Christopher's POV
I stood in the kitchen, watching the maids prepare the ingredients I'd requested, and felt nothing but irritation.
Jasmine was only tolerable because I needed her. That was the simple, brutal truth.
Without her ability, she was just another weak omega—forgettable, replaceable, worthless. The mate bond meant nothing beyond the biological inconvenience it represented. If anything, it made this whole charade more tedious, forcing me to pretend I cared when every fiber of my being wanted to be anywhere but here. I noticed the mate bond was fading, but I had no idea why. Well, for the better.
But my mother was dying. The doctor's words kept replaying in my mind like a death sentence. Without intervention, you have a month. Maybe less.
A month.
Jasmine's hesitation, her e
