Prologue

Prologue

Raven

My eyes jumble awake, and I yawn loudly as my whole body stretches out in my bed. Then, oddly enough, my head bumps into something hard, and I lift my chin, staring into a pair of mesmerizing eyes.

What. The. Actual. Fork.

A sexy stranger gives me a lazy grin. His head is resting in his palm, giving wake to his round bicep holding him up. Ropes of corded muscles make me gap like a goldfish, and wondering how hard I hit my head. Is this heaven?

"Good morning, beautiful," The man I'm staring at says; his voice is deep, rough, and incredibly sexy. I'm confident he can make a woman come undone by simply opening that darn mouth. "Did you sleep well?"

I stop breathing, my throat already turning drier than the desert of Sahara. I'm confident I might suffer a heart attack. This man is drop-dead gorgeous. Honestly, he looks like a famous actor—definitely way older and grown-up than me.

My heart drops to my stomach. "Uh… Who are you?"

Amusement carves into his features, and a slow-spreading smile takes over his lush lips. He leans a bit closer, fanning me with his breath. "Your mate."

I stare at him, convinced I scored the jackpot. This guy is entirely out of my league. "M-Mate?!"

The gorgeous man's smile widens, and I don't know why, but my eyes automatically travel further down his neck to his ripped body, and my IQ drops seeing his marvelously toned chest.

"Fork. Me."

McGorgeous snort-laughs and the room turns a hundred degrees hotter—I had not meant to say those words out loud!

But who can blame me?

McGorgeous is naked. Naked in my bed. Naked. He is not even wearing boxer briefs. Buttnaked. And he is... I mean... Jesus Christ... He so gorgeous with taut muscles covering his entire body, and my heartbeat races as I trail down those v-lines...

Oh boy.

How will I ever be able to take him?!

"Fork you?" A low chuckle sends a shudder down my spine. "That will have to wait for next time," He winks at me. "But you can cuddle with me."

Next time?

I lick my lips, needing a distraction, so I lift my eyes to his more than amused face.

He is grinning from ear to ear. It's enough to set my heart on fire, and suddenly I have forgotten how to speak and end up mumbling incoherent words and sentences.

I stutter. "Uh... So... You're my mate... And... Beautiful... Naked..."

I think I call him beautiful and sexy during my rambling, and the man smiles wider, taking my hands in his larger ones.

I never want him to let go; his hands are so masculine and warm. And those eyes are so full of emotions that I can't understand but I can feel them whirring through the room.

This man loves me.

"I have no clue what you just said," The man admits, and then his face seems to grow sad. One could drown in the water gathering in the corner of his eyes. "Our time is limited, but we will meet again once you turn eighteen." He smiles briefly. "Come and find me in the magical realm."

His voice sends a flutter through my entire body, and then he leans in to kiss me. It feels like magic—the mate-bond is buzzing in the surrounding atmosphere.

His lips convey many emotions: love, passion, consuming flames, the urge to protect, and there are even traces of fear, fear of losing the only person he cares about—me. I get unhappy feeling his flooding fright of not being able to hold me for much longer, and I press into his warm lips, desperate to stay with him longer. But then the scene gets blurry.

I can't stop it.

I break from our kiss, see the concern in my mate's eyes, and scream when he fragments into the abyss.

"No, stay with me!" I shout, but instead of seeing that beautiful man, I wake up covered in sweat in my bed. Tears are falling down onto my bedsheets, and I can no longer remember what my mate looked like.

The only thing I can remember is how he made me feel—complete, and without him, I'm lost.