Kaya
Time ceases to matter. The whole world stops spinning the moment I hear that one word—mate.
I can't even count how many times I dreamed of being called that. For real.
Mate—the one destined to belong with another. Mate—a soul tied to another by the will of the Moon Goddess, a bond etched into the bones. Mate—a love so fated it can kill you when it's denied.
When I first met Damien, he told me I was his true mate. And for nine years, I believed it. I believed that was why I was his favorite.
And even though I'd felt safe by his side—content, even—I had never felt... anything deeper. He said I was special. But he never held a special place in my heart.
Because he was never our mate.
A foreign female voice echoes inside my head, sharp and unfamiliar. My skull suddenly feels like it's filled with molten lead. I wince, clutching it as the sound grows louder—piercing, relentless, impossible to ignore.
