Kai POV
Liam was quiet for a moment, apparently processing the implications of our limited options. "How long do you think you can maintain this separation from Lily?" he asked finally.
The question has always left me disoriented. I stared into a space for a while before shrugging and replying, "As long as necessary," I said, though the words felt like lies even as I spoke them. "However long it takes to find a solution."
"And if we never find one?"
I stared at him, unable to voice the possibility that had been haunting my nightmares. A life without Lily, watching her from afar but never able to hold her, touch her, share the simple intimacies that made the mate bond so precious. It was a painful future I didn’t want to contemplate.
"We'll find one," I said with more conviction than I
