Cleaning up the mess on the streets turned out to be more than Monica could watch. Especially after her scuttle with Adam. Her mate... She scoffed to herself. Amely had made it sound so sacred and sincere, but this mate bond was nothing but a strain. It wasn't like the falling in love at first sight thing. Her mate was cruel and cold, calculating and pushing everybody away. For a second, Monica wondered what he had been like before this all took place. Kind and caring? The small traces of warm moments they had shared were quickly dimmed and replaced by his hand on her neck.

She crawled at her...