Ava stood frozen in front of the mirror, her silk robe hanging loosely from her shoulders.
A searing burn bloomed beneath her skin, sharp enough to steal her breath. Her fingers trembled as they pushed aside her nightshirt, heart pounding.
There it was.
A mark.
She could swear it wasn't there yesterday.
It was just below her collarbone—an intricate swirl of silvery lines, almost glowing,shaped like a star. Five sharp points, delicate but bold.
Her fingers trembled as she reached up and traced it, half-expecting it to disappear. It didn't. The sensation that buzzed through her skin was hot and familiar, like a whisper in her blood. A tether.
Her stomach dropped.
"No. No, no, no," she whispered, backing away from the mirror.
Her thoughts spiraled.
It couldn't be what she thought it was. Couldn't be tied to him. To Dante.
She ran to her phone and opened her search browser. Her fingers flew over the screen—"Lycan bond marks," "mate signs on humans," "is it permanent?" "how to remove."
The answers she found made her breath catch in her throat.
The mark meant claiming. It meant recognition. It meant the bond had started threading through her soul, not just her senses. And if left unchecked, it would root itself in every part of her—mind, body, heart.
She dropped the phone. Her vision blurred.
This wasn't happening.
This couldn't be happening.
"I'll wait for you," Dante had said.
Liar.
She yanked the robe tighter around herself and paced the room, her mind on fire. She needed space. She needed answers. She needed—
Him.
The worst part?
Beneath all the fear… was a spark of longing.
She slapped her hand over the star-mark, as if she could smother it.
But it stayed.
Warm. Real.
And somehow, it made her feel less alone… which terrified her more than anything else.