Hearing what I requested, Theo looks scalded. He stands up and retreats from me, almost stumbling at the thick carpet.

“You don’t mean that,” he says as if he is seeing me for the first time.

“Do you think I will joke about this?”

“You marked me… You said you love me…” he says. His voice is barely a whisper.

“My baby died, Theo. This mate bond with you is painful. I can’t undergo that same experience again.”

“Then how about love?!”

I look away. Right now, I just want to let go of this fake connection with him.

“From now on…” he starts. He moves towards me again and...