[Astrid P.O.V.]
The mark on my neck still tingled, a reminder of the bond I shared with my mate, Atlas.
It wasn't painful. The design itself shimmered under the light, thin lines curled into the shape of a crescent moon, tucked protectively around a paw print, just below the edge of my collarbone. It pulsed when Atlas was near, faint but alive. When we stood beside each other, his mirrored mark curled inward like the reflection of mine. Together, they looked like two halves of the same eclipse.
The mate bond was complete.
It had changed everything. And yet… problems still plagued our partnership.
I still remember the moment my legs gave out on the stairs, my vision shattering like glass before I could reach the altar. The panic. The way my body refused to move. The fire in my veins.
