The healer's words hung in the heavy air like a physical weight, completely suffocating the room.
*You all need to look for her mate to complete the bond.*
My heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped beast, the realization hitting me so hard and so fast that my entire body went rigid. I stared down at Maria's pale, motionless face, my mind racing through every single piece of the puzzle.
*Me.*
It was me. I was the one the old man was talking about.
Aidan, Davian, and Adrein had already claimed their share of the bond—they had marked her, leaving their scents and spiritual imprints deeply rooted in her soul. I was the only one left. I was the missing piece of her bond, the sole reason her body was fighting itself, twisting her internal energy into a violent, agonizing knot. The incomplete mark was starving her, pulling on a connection that I had left half-finished out of my own foolish hesitation.
