POV: Thelma
The forest had become my home for three days now, and I was starting to understand why rogues went mad. The isolation ate at you. The constant vigilance wore down your defenses. And the mate bond, that cursed thread connecting me to Xavier, pulled at my heart with every breath.
I shoved another handful of wild berries into my mouth, barely tasting them. My stomach had stopped growling yesterday, which probably wasn't a good sign. The small cave I'd found provided shelter from the rain that had started this morning, but it did nothing to protect me from my own thoughts.
"He lied to you," I whispered to myself, the words echoing off stone walls. "They all lied."
But even as I said it, I felt Xavier's presence through our bond. He was awake now, healed enough to be conscious.
