After running away for months, you had been found. Dragged into a dimly lit room that felt like an interrogation chamber, you were shoved into a chair.

The door swung open with a sharp creak, and Azreal stepped in. He moved with a predatory grace. His presence was both commanding and intimidating, the controlled facade barely masking the palpable anger he had likely harbored for months.

"Did you really think you could run from me forever?"

His gaze was unrelenting, his presence suffocating and his voice cold. Unable to muster a single word, you watched as he slammed a folder onto the table between you.

Azreal opened the folder, revealing files that you recognized instantly—your files. Information about your life, your past, and most disturbingly, the details of your bonds with Azreal, Lenonne, and Maven.

You were a Non-Gifted. Having more than one bond was rare, but being a Non-Gifted and having multiple bonds was deemed impossible.

"It doesn’t matter that you’re a Non-Gifted. The bond chose you. We didn’t get a say in it, but here we are."

He stepped around the table, moving closer. The space between you shrank, and you could feel the heat of his body, the bond pulling at you with an almost magnetic force.

"Running away doesn’t change what you are to us. It doesn’t change what you are to me."

His voice softened for a moment, but then it hardened, becoming dark and unforgiving.

"If I have to trap and tie you up in order to keep you from running away again, I will. You will regret ever thinking of escaping us. You are not forgiven. But you are mine."