“She’s busy,” he says flatly, positioning himself between Leon and me.
I’m shocked into silence for a moment, my mind struggling to process what’s happening. Then, anger flares hot and bright inside me.
“Excuse me?” I glare at Kieran, my hands clenching at my sides. “I can speak for myself, thank you.”
But Kieran isn’t looking at me. His eyes are fixed on Leon, and there’s a dangerous look in them—possessive and primal in a way that makes my wolf perk up with interest despite my irritation.
“I would appreciate it,” Kieran says, his voice dropping to a low growl, “if you would stay away from my fated mate.”
The world seems to come to a complete stop. I freeze, my eyes going wide as I gape at Kieran’s back. Did he just…Did he really just…
Leon pales, his gaze darting between Kieran and me. “Fated mate?” he repeats, shock clear in his voice.
I can’t speak. Can’t move. Can’t do anything but stare straight ahead, my mind reeling. After insisting we can’t be together because of the danger it would pose to me, now he’s announcing our bond to Leon like it’s a fact he’s proud of.
“Yes,” Kieran says, and there’s steel in his voice now. “And I don’t want you sniffing around her anymore. Is that clear?”
Leon takes a step back, his expression shifting from shock to understanding to what looks like hurt. “I—I should go.” He glances at me one last time over Kieran’s shoulder, an apology in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Daciana. I didn’t know.”
He leaves quickly, and I’m left standing in my doorway, in shock. Before I can demand an explanation, Kieran turns to face me and takes a step closer. I take a step backward instinctively, and he keeps advancing until I’ve backed into my room. He follows me inside and closes the door behind him with a deliberate click.
I finally find my voice. “What the hell was that?”
There’s something raw in his expression—a vulnerability beneath the possessive aggression. He takes another step forward, and I retreat until my back hits the wall beside my desk.
When he speaks, his voice is rough, strained, filled with an emotion that makes my heart race and my wolf surge forward.
“Do you really think I can see you with another man?”
I stare at him, frozen against the wall. This side of Kieran—primal, desperate, intense—is nothing like the controlled, distant man who has been pushing me away for weeks. My heart hammers against my ribs.
He crosses over to me, and suddenly, his hand is cupping my jaw, tilting my face up to his. His touch is gentle despite the passion burning in his eyes. He holds me there, like I’m something precious and breakable, and I feel the tremor in his fingers.
“I didn’t think it would be this hard,” he murmurs. “I thought I could keep you safe by staying away. I thought I could protect you from the curse by denying what we are.”
I try to speak, but he’s not done. His thumb traces the line of my cheekbone so tenderly, it makes my chest ache.
“I forgot,” he continues, and there’s wonder in his voice now, mixed with the pain. “I forgot that this woman—my mate—isn’t a weak female who needs my help, who needs protecting. You’re different from any of your past lives. You’re…Daciana.”
The way he says my name—like it’s sacred, like it means something—makes my wolf press against her cage with desperate hope.
“I want to be the person you use as a shield,” he says, and his other hand comes up to frame my face, holding me like I might disappear. “I want to be the one you turn to when you’re scared or upset. I want to be there when you’re falling apart, not watching from down a hallway while you suffer alone.”
My breath catches. The garden. He’s talking about what I told him in the garden, when I snapped at him. When I let the truth spill out in my anger.
“I was so desperate to keep you at arm’s length,” he says, and now there’s self-recrimination in his tone. “So focused on not losing you to death that I forgot I could lose you in other ways. I could lose you to distance. To isolation. To someone else who sees what I see and isn’t too much of a coward to claim it.”
“Kieran—”
“I can’t lose you.” His voice breaks on the words. “You’re in every heartbeat. Every breath. Every thought. I can’t see youwith anyone else, Daciana. I physically cannot watch another man look at you the way Leon does and not lose my mind.”
The admission should make me happy. Should make me feel victorious. But all I feel is the same crushing weight, the same exhaustion.
“But you don’t want me,” I say, and my voice comes out smaller than I intend. Weaker. “You made that clear.”
His eyes flash with what can only be described as pain. “Daciana, if I could, I would rip out my heart and put it at your feet. That’s how much I love you.”
The words take my breath away. I want to believe them. Gods, I want to believe them so badly, it hurts. But…
