POV: LUCEN
I hate that she makes me want to be better.
I'm sitting across the fire from Aphrodite, watching her talk quietly with Lyra about something I can't hear, and all I can think is how much easier everything would be if I didn't feel this pull toward her. If the bond was just physical. Just instinct. Just something I could ignore or fight against.
But it's not.
The bond is constant. Demanding. Every time Aphrodite feels something, I feel it echoing through the connection between us. Her pain is my pain. Her anger burns in my chest like it's my own. Her fear makes my wolf pace restlessly beneath my skin, desperate to protect her even though I'm one of the things she needs protection from.
It's exactly what our Alpha training warned us about. Mates make you weak. Mates make you vulnerable. Mates make you care about something more than the pack, more than your duty, more than your own survival.
And they were right.
