Ch. 16

Raya's POV

"What have you been up to today?" Cruz asked, breaking the silence as I sat on the small leather loveseat in his office. I remained silent, refusing to look at his face or utter a single word to him. It had been three weeks since he declared me his chosen mate. Every evening, he had me come in to talk and supposedly get to know each other better. During the first week, I pleaded with him to reconsider. The following week, I begged him to at least allow Garret or Amaya to touch me. He reluctantly agreed to Amaya, but that was the extent of it. This week, I decided that if my words and opinions meant nothing to him, then I would no longer grace him with my voice.

"Raya, you can't just keep ignoring me. The moon festival is tomorrow, and if I don't find my mate, you'll be marked as mine at the end of the night. Please, I want you to be comfortable with the idea. The mark will help, but I would like to know that at least some small part of you is okay with this," he pleaded, re