"Alright, Amara, here's the deal. "When we talk about mates for beastmen, it's not like… some cute romance novel where you just lock eyes and everything's sunshine and rainbows. No, no. It's more like a magical game of hide-and-seek, where you finally find the one person who's been hiding inside your chest the whole time, and then you're like, 'Oh, there you are!' And boom. Instant connection."
Amara blinked at him. They were moving to a chapter about mates now.
Her brain stopped after the word "boom," which felt entirely too explosive for something supposedly romantic.
And, honestly? She wasn't even into the mate thing in the first place. The whole concept sounded sticky, like getting honey on your fingers and realizing there's no napkin within five miles. Yes, affection was nice, closeness was nice. But this predetermined destiny thing? It felt like being pushed into a marriage by invisible cosmic hands that didn't care about personal preference.
