Asher’s Point of View
Keeping the mate bond a secret from Talia had been a huge mistake, I knew that now. I knew it the second my eyes met hers, when she pleaded with me to just let her go. Couldn’t she understand how hard that was for me to do? Watching my mate walk away from me when she was upset, with no idea of when or if she would ever come back to me, had to be the hardest thing I’d ever experienced. And this was only a preview for how it would feel when she left for California. Really, I knew I should be preparing myself. Talia couldn’t understand what I was going through, and I shouldn’t expect her to. I hadn’t even been able to bring myself to tell her about the bond, she never stood a chance.
My head hung as I leaned over my desk. My palms held flat against the service and I w
