Aiden Has No Mate?!

Aiden presses his forehead against the cool window of the bus, his fingers clenched into fists in his lap.

The streets blur past, but he hardly sees them. His heart pounds against his ribs, his breathing shallow. He tells himself to calm down, to push everything down.

But it's not working.

Lucian's voice still echoes in his head, the heartbreak in his eyes burned into Aiden's mind like a scar.

"Is this really how far you're willing to go for us?"

"This is all the fight you have left?"

Aiden squeezes his eyes shut, exhaling sharply through his nose. His throat tightens. He swallows against the lump forming there.

He feels sick.

Tired.

His whole body is exhausted, not just from lack of sleep but from years of carrying a love that was never meant to be easy.

His grip on his bag strap tightens.