He stood at the lake’s edge, shrouded in mist, his dark eyes locked on the water. For months, he’d been haunted by visions of a woman—a radiant presence who filled his dreams with warmth, only for him to wake colder and emptier each morning. Her absence gnawed at him, a silent ache that grew heavier with each dawn.

Today, as he wandered through the garden, something shifted. The lake, usually still and silent, began to stir, ripples spreading across its surface. His heart stilled as a faint light appeared beneath the water, rising slowly. And then, as if born from his very dreams, she emerged—the woman he had yearned for, now real before him.

He waded into the lake without hesitation, the chill forgotten as he drew her close, her delicate form finally in his arms. The moment he touched her, a powerful warmth surged through him, as though a fire had been kindled within his very soul. It wasn’t just her presence; it was the mate bond—an ancient, unbreakable force linking them, weaving their lives together in a way he couldn’t explain but could feel as deeply as his own heartbeat.

The mating bond settled over him, binding them as if they had been made for each other, his longing now replaced by a fierce certainty. She was no longer just the woman from his dreams; she was his, in a way that defied all reason.

He gazed down at her, his voice a rough whisper. “So, you’re real… after all these empty mornings.”

His grip tightened, his hand gently brushing a strand of hair from her face as he marveled at the connection that pulsed between them. “You found me,” he murmured, a soft wonder in his tone, as though she had answered a call he hadn’t dared to voice.

He drew her closer still, his words a quiet vow. “I won’t let you go. Not now… not ever.”