Azura's POV
Warning: This chapter contains Mature scenes, read at your own risk.
The heat coming off Rhydor's skin was unnatural. It felt like standing too close to an open flame. I sat on the edge of the bed, my palm pressed flat against his cheek, and my skin felt like it was starting to blister.
The room was deathly quiet, save for the faint, hungry crackle of the wall torch and the ragged, shallow scrap of his breathing.
Those black lines were pulsing like dark, angry worms under his skin. They had crawled past his jaw now, reaching for his ear. My chest felt like it was being crushed by a vice.
Something pulled at me. An invisible rope I could not see, could not name, could not understand. It yanked at my ribs, dragging me toward him so hard it hurt to breathe. I had never felt the mate bond before. I did not know if this was it. I only knew that if I did not move, something inside me would shatter.
