Killian's POV
I spent endless nights as a kid dreaming about the perfect life waiting somewhere out there for me. When your mom dies at eleven and your dad treats you like unwanted trash, fantasies become your only way out. Those dreams always featured the same elements: parents who actually gave a damn about me, and a fated mate who'd fill the hollow spaces eating away at my soul.
The irony tasted like poison in my mouth. After years of craving that destined connection, I'd destroyed it the second it was handed to me.
What the fuck was wrong with me that I rejected Lyra when she stood there, raw and hopeful?
Why did I shatter the exact bond I'd spent my entire shitty childhood begging for?
The scene replayed in my head like torture. Her expression when I said those brutal words. I reject the bond. How her face collapsed. The agony that drowned her eyes.
