Katarina's POV
The silence between us stretched for hours, and I found myself battling against the intrusive thoughts my wolf kept pushing into my mind. The mate bond was making it difficult to think clearly, driving me toward feelings I wasn’t ready to face. How could it be that I had only just met this man last night, yet here I was, struggling to resist the urge to be close to him, to feel the warmth of his body next to mine? This wasn’t who I was, and something needed to change before I completely lost control.
I tried to shift my focus, forcing myself to think about anything but Alpha Dominic. My mind wandered to my friend Raven—what was her mate like, and what was she doing right now? I wondered about Gideon, too, and why he hadn’t found his mate at the ball. My thoughts kept me oc
