ALBERT POV
I was floating.
Or maybe burning.
Hard to tell the difference when your soul finally clicks back into place.
The world felt new. Sharper. Softer. Every sound, every scent, every damn heartbeat around me hummed in sync with hers.
Livvy.
My mate.
She was sprawled across my chest, her skin slick and warm, her breath ghosting over my collarbone. Her pulse beat against mine like a perfect echo, and I swear I could feel her even with my eyes closed — the pull of her energy, the hum of her heartbeat, the sweet exhaustion bleeding into my own.
The bond was alive.
It throbbed under my skin like a new organ.
I could feel her emotions as clearly as my own — the afterglow humming in her bones, the soft flutter of disbelief, the quiet contentment underneath it all.
And deeper — bu
