Leonidas POV

The journey back to the North was shrouded in silence as I was deep in thought, lost in the enigma that was Isadora. Her unexpected arrival had shaken my world more than I wanted to admit.

I looked out of the window; the dark, winding roads seemed to mirror the intricate twists of my thoughts. I couldn't deny the fact that Isadora's sudden appearance had unsettled me. I couldn't ignore the connection we shared, and the fact that she was my mate had sparked something within me, something I couldn't easily dismiss.

It was impossible to ignore our mate bond. I kept replaying our interactions in my mind,...