Adrien.
The urge hit me without warning, sharp, insistent, impossible to ignore. I suddenly wanted to see my mate.
Yes. My mate.
No matter how fiercely my brothers and I tried to deny it, no matter how often we told ourselves it meant nothing, the bond did not care about our pride or our decisions. It pulsed beneath my skin, tugging at my chest, dragging my attention toward her like an invisible chain tightening link by link. I could fight it with my mind, curse it with my mouth, but my body had already chosen.
So I went to her.
But the moment my eyes found her, the pull in my chest twisted into something ugly.
There was no softness in her gaze. No fear. No timidity. What stared back at me was raw anger, hot, unfiltered, and beneath it, something far worse. Hatred. Sharp and unmistakable, like a blade aimed straight at my throat.
My steps faltered.
