Hired for Devon, put the way she had for Tristan. But I’d chavinced myself that the frantic flatter of my heart and him ex whwaigh, that the way he made me ter spoil and dunsen wes love, How wrong I’d been.
And? Tur* ** ** carefully controlled, but I can hear the underlying tension.
“And he was perfect. lis took me to this little italian restaurant I’d mentioned loving once in passing. He remembered that I preferred red wine wet white, that I was lactres intulerant, that I had a weakness for tiramisu even though it would make me sick later. He seemed to hang on every word i said, like I was the most fascinating person he’d ever met,
I’m back there now, in that dimly lit restaurant, feeling special and wanted and chosen. The way Daxon had looked at me across the table, like I was something precious, something worth cherishing.
It had been intoxicating after years of feeling lost and alone,
And the moment our hands touched when he held it on the table, I’d felt the mate bond snapped into place like a lightning bolt through
my soul.
“I felt the mate bond bit‘ I continue, my voice getting smaller. “I felt it the second our skin made contact at that restaurant. He was… he was my mate, Tristan. The one person the Moon Goddess chose for me.”
Tristan’s face goes carefully blank, but I can see his hands clench into fists where they rest on his knees. He knows what this means, knows how fare and precious the mate bond is supposed to be.
But I also see that look, the look of ‘what have we been told all our life’s‘ and he’s right. Our mate is not supposed to complete us.
“Find someone who makes you better, not someone who completes you. You should already be complete on your own.” Our parents would always say, but I’d done the exact opposite,
Our parents had always believed that the moon goddess gave each man the right to choose. A free will, that if not taken with caution could cost one his entire life.
“He felt it too….. I could see it in his eyes, the way they widened, the way his whole body went still. At that moment, I thought… I thought maybe this was my second chance at happiness. After everything that happened here five years ago, I thought maybe the goddess was giving me the love I’d always wanted.” I continued.
A bitter laugh escapes me, and I can taste the self–recrimination in it. How naive I’d been, thinking that having a mate would automatically mean having love. Or would help heal my pains.
“The mate bond made everything feel intense, electric. Every touch was like fire, every kiss like coming home.”
I have to stop for a moment, the irony of those words hitting me like a slap. Home, that’s what I’d thought I’d found with him. But it had been a prison instead.
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18:26 Fri, Jan 2 d
Chapter 20
“We started dating, and for the first seven months, it was… it was wonderful. The mate bond made everything seem so…. perfect. He was attentive and affectionate. He’d surprise me with weekend trips to the mountains. He made me feel like I was the center of his universe
My voice starts to shake as I approach the part of the story where everything changed. This is the hardest part, the part I’ve never told
anyone.
“But then things started to shift. Little things at first. He’d make comments about my clothes, suggest that maybe I was trying too hard to get attention from other men. He’d ask why I needed to work so much, why I couldn’t spend more time with him instead.”
Tristan’s jaw tightens, and I can see he’s beginning to understand where this is going.
“He started picking fights about my job. He’d say things like, ‘Why do you need to work in a place where men can ogle you? Don’t I take good enough care of you?‘ At first, I thought he was just being protective, you know? The mate bond was supposed to make him want to
protect me,”
I’m crying now, the tears falling silently down my cheeks as I relive the slow, methodical way Daxon dismantled my life.
“He convinced me to quit my job at the company I was working. Said he made enough money to take care of both of us, that his mate shouldn’t have to work. He made it sound romantic, like he wanted to be my provider, my protector.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
