He had heard stories as a pup. One of his nurse maids was the true mate to a general in his father's army. He had been killed in battle when they had went to war with the neko rebels in the southern most part of their boarders.
It is like being born without an essential piece of yourself. You know it is not there. You can feel where it's missing, but it does not really hurt because you've never known it. Finding your true mate is like the kami's coming down, and completing your very being. Suddenly you feel whole. You can move better, breathe better, fight better, love better, live better. But when it's taken away...
He shuddered at the memory.