Chloe I woke up the next morning. I did have a good rest, an undisturbed sleep after my heat. Bruce wasn’t beside me. Maybe he’s in the bathroom? I tried to smell the air but he wasn't there. Maybe he is somewhere in the palace? I closed my eyes and imagined an aura of the mate bond around me and expanded that to the area of the palace searching for Bruce. I didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t sure if it was because the mate bond wasn’t working or he really wasn’t here. I got up and checked my phone. No new messages or any missed calls. I proceeded to give Bruce a call. “ The number that you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again later.” the phone operator on the line played. That’s strange… did his phone’s battery died? I went to wash up and got dressed. Finally, I was able to leav

