The words stayed in my head.
Your mate bond is the key.
I looked at the silver thread floating between me and the Moon Goddess.
It was thin.
Almost fragile.
Yet the moment I saw it, something inside my chest hurt.
I knew that thread.
I had felt it before.
On the night Damian rejected me.
When everyone watched me fall apart.
When the Moon Stone cracked.
When I thought the Moon itself had decided I wasn't worthy.
That thread had been there.
It had burned through me.
Then someone had cut it.
I turned toward Damian.
He was staring at the same thread.
His face had gone pale.
"What?"
I asked.
He didn't answer.
"Damian."
His eyes met mine.
"I remember."
My heart tightened.
"Remember what?"
"The ceremony."
He stepped closer.
"The moment I rejected you."
His voice shook
