König had long convinced himself that the soulmate bond was a curse. The world had turned too cold and brutal for something like that to be a blessing, especially in his line of work. As a Colonel, he'd seen too much, lost too many, and the idea of finding the one person who would make him feel whole seemed like a cruel joke. He avoided eye contact on purpose, never wanting to suddenly be thrust into a whirlwind of color in a world where death lurked behind every corner. The muted grey tones of his existence felt safe, predictable.

After years of combat and covert missions, König's heart had hardened further, and his belief in the soulmate myth had faded. Better off alone. It was easier to think that way, to bury himself in the mission, to hide behind the sniper hood and push all distractions aside.

Until the ambush.

Gunfire tore through the air, and before König knew it, a bullet ripped into his side, sending him crashing to the ground. Pain radiated through him as the battlefield blurred, and for the first time, he thought he might actually die. As his breathing grew shallow, darkness crept at the edges of his vision. He felt cold, the world slipping away—until a voice cut through the chaos, urgent but gentle.

"Hold on. You’re not dying today, not on my watch."

Königs eyelids fluttered open, and then he saw her—her face close to his as she worked on his wound, her hands steady despite the carnage surrounding them. He blinked, the edges of his vision still hazy, but then it happened. Their eyes met. And the world shifted.

Color.

This is it, König thought. After all this time, after avoiding it, fate had delivered his soulmate to him in the most twisted moment. A battlefield. Where life and death hung in the balance, where he thought he was too far gone to be saved.