His Eternal Bond Was Never Mine

Our blood-oath ceremony was on the horizon.

But my fated mate, Darius, told me he had to forge a blood bond with another woman.

Livia.

He claimed her life force was unraveling. That without his blood, she would fade to nothing.

I fought him. But the next day, he moved Livia directly into the Prince's Chambers in the Coven’s castle.

That was the suite reserved for the future Prince’s mate.

My suite.

He tried to soothe me, sinking to his knees, his crimson eyes pleading. “Once she’s stable, I swear I’ll break the bond. You are my only eternity. You always will be.”

But then Livia found me.

She showed me the fresh, golden mark on her wrist—the symbol of an Eternal Bond.

They had already completed the sacred rite. Long before Darius ever confessed to me.

My heart shattered to ash.

I dragged my nail across the calendar, carving a vicious X over the date that was supposed to be our blood-oath ceremony.

Then I opened the encrypted message from the Vienna Coven Academy.

“I accept. I’ll leave on the day of our ceremony.”

Right before our blood-oath ceremony, my mate, Darius, said he needed to forge a blood bond with another woman. Livia—the woman who had supposedly saved his life.

“I have to forge a temporary, life-sharing bond with Livia. She’s dying, Isolde. Her life source is failing.”

Darius’s gaze was heavy.

My hands stilled over the Eternal Blood.

The potion was for our ceremony. It was meant to ensure the soul-link between fated mates would never fray.

And now, he was asking me to accept him bonding with someone else.

My fingertips began to tremble.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“This isn't a request, Isolde.” His voice, laced with the authority of a Prince, echoed in the vast alchemy lab. “It’s already done, Isolde. I forged the bond this morning. In the forgotten sanctuary.”

“In the sanctuary…” My hand shook so violently the potion vial slipped and shattered on the stone floor. “That’s the place for our Eternal Vow!”

“I owe her my life.”

“I don’t care what you owe her!” My voice cracked like a whip. “A blood bond is sacred, Darius! It was supposed to be for us—”

“One year,” he cut me off, his bloodshot eyes wide with disbelief. “A life is on the line,” he snarled. “How can you not understand?”

“I promise, I’ll break it when the term is up. She’ll live, and you will still be my one and only eternal mate.”

I glared at him, my jaw tight. “I don’t agree. Not unless you want to tear our twin soul bond apart.”

Darius’s eyes finally turned to ice. “This isn’t a request, Isolde. A life is on the line. Don’t make me use my princely command.”

He promised, “It’s just a temporary bond. It won’t affect our link. In a year, everything will be back to normal.”

Then he turned in a flash of anger, his body dissolving into a