The walk back to my quarters feels endless. Seth carries me like I weigh nothing, his arms steady despite the way his heart is pounding against my side. I want to protest, to demand he put me down, but my feet throb with every slight movement, and the exhaustion weighing on me makes resistance impossible.
The fated mate bond thrums between us, alive and insistent in a way it hasn’t been for two weeks. It’s disorienting, like suddenly remembering how to breathe after forgetting you need air. Every point where his body touches mine sends sparks racing under my skin, and I hate it. I hate that my body responds to him when my mind knows better.
We finally reach my door, and he pushes it open with his shoulder, carrying me inside without asking permission. He sets me down on the edge of my be
