Seraphine's POV
The instant Theodore's fangs pierced my throat, everything changed. A violent shock ripped through my entire being. Whatever invisible thread had kept me tethered to Nash finally broke apart. The sensation was brutal, like having a steel cable torn from my very essence, leaving behind nothing but emptiness.
But then something else took its place. Theodore's bond crashed into me like a tidal wave. It wrapped itself around my heart with such intensity that I could barely breathe. The connection was so powerful it wiped away every trace of my former life. Heat spread through my veins as I shook in his arms.
"Mate," I whispered.
The word came out on its own. I was his now. Completely and utterly his. And for the first time in my life, everything made perfect sense.
The thorny tattoo on my skin gave one final painful twist before releasing me. Those marks had been my prison for so long, but now they simply disappeared. I felt lighter than air.
