Chapter 69

Ronan’s POV

I had always prided myself on being the hard‐ hearted, unbreakable king—certain that the fortress I’d erected around my emotions after losing my fake mate could withstand any threat. I never imagined I was capable of feeling anything more pitiable than the stirrings Seris awakened in me from the moment she stepped into my life. But tonight, I felt entirely different. I knew I had been wrong about everything.

With Seris, I experienced the full spectrum of emotion. First came hate, born of shock when I discovered who she was. Then acceptance—and alongside it, anger—when I realized I couldn’t cast her aside. Next arrived lust, each futile attempt to resist the mate bond fueling my desire. Beneath that carnal longing, however, grew genuine affection as I discovered there was far more to her than raw attraction. Every moment I feared losing her brought a fresh stab of pain, and witnessing her smile with Kaien—or any other male—ignited a fierce jealousy I’d