The potion's haze thickened, wrapping around Livia like a heavy blanket. Her eyelids fluttered as exhaustion tugged at her, and her breaths came in uneven shudders. But sleep would not come.
Every time she closed her eyes, she felt him.
His scent. His voice. The ghost of his touch.
Every heartbeat carried his name.
Every breath burned for his presence.
And beneath the numbing potion, her wolf whimpered — pleaded — for the bond to be fulfilled.
"Aldus…" she whispered, though she wasn't sure if she was calling for Aldus or the part of him that was animal and soul intertwined with hers.
"It shouldn't be like this. Earlier, I rejected Aldrake and suffered from bond breaking. And now, here I am still suffering from the pull of a new bond with you. I was planning on leaving, to start over to stop my feelings for you, but here we are bound to be the second fated pair..."
