The night air was cool against my skin, but it did nothing to calm the storm brewing inside me. My mind raced, filled with conflicting emotions and the weight of everything that had happened. The bond pulsed faintly in the background, an ever-present reminder of the connection I couldn’t escape, no matter how hard I tried.
Caius.
His name echoed in my thoughts, the one thing that had become a constant in the midst of all the chaos. I could feel him, even now, a steady presence at the back of my mind, grounding me in ways I wasn’t ready to accept. The pull between us was strong, undeniable, but the shame that had gripped me since that first moment hadn’t left.
How could my mate be a werebear?
It didn’t make sense. I had always imagined my mate would be someone like me, a wolf, someone w
