*Eliza*
Jared’s face fell when he realized the mate bond wasn’t restored. My heart ached in my chest, seeing how sad he looked. He’d wanted to restore it so badly. I knew he did.
There was a part of me that wanted it restored too, despite how much I didn’t think we needed it.
I wrapped my arms loosely around Jared’s neck and looked into his eyes. He looked away.
“Hey, look at me.”
Slowly, he lifted his shimmering, deep orbs to mine.
I licked my lips slowly. “It doesn’t matter, okay?”
“Of course, it matters! How can it not?”
Sighing, I tightened my arms around him, pulling myself closer. I slid my body against Jared’s.
“It doesn’t matter because I don’t need the mate bond to tell me how much I love you. Do you need it to tell how much you love me?”
Jared shook his head and slipped his arms around my waist. “No, I know that I love you.”
“Then we don’t need the mate bond. My heart flutters every time we are together. Isn’t that enough?”
