Elvira
The air was filled with an almost electric stillness, as if the entire woods was holding its breath. Shadows stretched at the clearing where we’d set up for the ritual, ancient stones with faded runes encircling the small fire pit. The cold night seeped into my bones, but it was nothing compared to the chill crawling through my veins.
I pulled my cloak tighter around me, heart pounding not from the cold but from the weight of what I was about to do. Severing the cursed mate bond between Jaxon and me. The ritual wasn’t just painful; it could kill me.
Jaxon’s eyes burned with desperate fear as he reached for my hand, fingers trembling.
“Elvira, please. Don’t do this. The bond… it’s part of us. We can find another way. Please.”
I shook my head, my voice low but steady. “No, Jaxo
