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I cross over into euphoria. I’m feeling things I’ve never felt before… Not even with Octavia… though all of that was a lie.

“Adonis… I…” she hesitates for a moment, but I sense what she really wants to say to me.

What I want to say to her. “I feel deeply for you. For all of you. But you’re different.

I can feel the bond more strongly with you…

Don’t you?” She starts to chew on her bottom lip because she is afraid of my answer.

“I feel deeply for you too, Dani. I have never felt this way about anybody before. Not even when I was under Octavia’s influence did I feel this way…

” I pause and then continue, “but I can’t give myself to you fully.

It’s not possible, because I am not whole.

Octavia stole a part of my soul and that part of me is gone.

Because of her you can’t break the curse.

But, curse or no curse, I still want eternity with you. ”

A tear rolls down her cheek. “Adonis, you are enough. You’re more than enough. And I want you exactly how you are. You aren’t broken. You just need help finding the way. I could love—” She stops speaking as she caresses my face.

I go to speak to her but she cuts me off. Her eyes are wide, “Adonis! Look! My hand!” Curiously, I take her hand and examine it.

My heart drops, and I can’t breathe.

My mark appears very, very faintly on the back of her hand and wraps around her wrist… It’s faint. But it’s there.

“That’s not possible…” I frown and grab her hand. Examining it more to see if I really see it.

I do.

“It is, Adonis. And it’s proof that you aren’t broken.

You are everything I need. I can feel the love, right here,” she places her hand on my heart.

“You are everything I could ever want. I am your mate like I am Dax’s and Killian’s.

But…” She stops for a moment. Her green eyes search mine.

“I feel more deeply with you. You’re… you’re my mate. My number one mate.”

I carefully tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, brushing my fingers softly against her delicate skin. I take a deep breath and sigh. My fingertips glide over her lips, tracing their perfect curve, savoring the warmth radiating from her.

I don’t feel guilty one bit that she feels a deeper connection with me than the other two. Every bond is different and I’ve known from the start that ours would be the strongest. I just don’t understand how it’s possible.

“Your mark should have shaded in fully with what we just did. We should have just completed the bond, but your mark isn’t filled like the others. This is all I have to offer,” I give her a weak smile.

“Then it is enough for me,” she says, meaning every single word.

Gods, she is amazing. How did I get so lucky that she found the grimoire and is my mate? It’s almost too good to be true.

I gently press my lips against hers, tasting this fleeting moment’s sweetness.

I want to lock it away in my memory, knowing that when dawn breaks, the disillusionment will crash over me like an unwelcome tide.

I am acutely aware that this reality will disappoint Dax and Killian, and in time, I’ll inevitably let Dani down, too.

“You are more than enough, Adonis, just as you stand before me. Even if a fragment of your soul is lost, I will help you find it. I will embrace you wholeheartedly, cherishing every part of you as you are in this moment. We will break this curse. I can feel it.”

She snuggles deeply into my chest. “I don’t ever want to let you go, Dani. You are my goddess. My life.”

“What if I’m not enough? Not pure enough. Not strong enough for you and that’s why your symbol didn’t shade in. Maybe it’s me… Maybe I’m the problem.” Her voice trembles as she presses her cheek against my chest, her breath warm against my skin, filled with vulnerability and fear.

How could she possibly think it’s her? She is fucking everything.

I draw a deep breath, my heart aching for her doubt.

“Impossible. You are a goddess, Dani. You are my goddess. You want to know why I call you that?” She nods in response.

Cradling her face in my hands and looking deep into her eyes, I gently say, “Goddesses aren’t pure.

They never have been. Goddesses embrace their darkness, their chaotic depths, the tumult within them that shapes their existence.

They revel in their power, breaking norms and challenging boundaries, all while striving for a larger good, for inner peace and harmony in a fractured world. ”

I lean in closer, my lips brushing against her ear as I passionately whisper, “But purity isn’t a personality trait, sweet Dani.

You are everything to me, every flawed and beautiful piece of you.

And I promise to spend every waking moment proving to you that you are a goddess.

You are the reason for that thing that beats in my chest.”

I feel a spark ignite between us.

I love her so fucking much. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I’m starting to think I don’t need the lost part of my soul…

I roll my body over hers, surrounding her with my warmth, and let my kisses rain down like gentle petals, each one, a beacon of affection amid our swirling emotions.

We surrender to the embrace of oblivion once more, the world fades away, and it’s just us—two souls entwined in a dance of desire and passion.

In the morning, I will tell her everything.

Well, almost everything.