She and Aurora’s picture sat in a five-by-seven on the other side of her bed next to a lamp.With a thought, both pictures were in her hands.She stared down at them, wiping a tear from her eyes, and settled on the mattress.Across the room, on top of her dresser, she kept her jewelry box that held small keepsakes.Again, she only had to think about it for the object to be next to her.“I could become a complete bed rotter, or couch potato.”
Her parents never would’ve allowed either her or Aurora to sit around and do nothing.They’d gone on hikes, white water rafting, and camping trips most families wouldn’t have ventured on with young children.Not that her family was typical, being they were shifters and Fey.Of course, Starla hadn’t been privy to that knowledge back then.
“I miss you both so very much,” she said, running her finger across the faces of her parents.
“I missed you when I returned to your bedroom only to find you gone.”Scepter’s deep voice interrupted her musings.
Starla shrieked, tossing the picture in her hands up in the air.Scepter’s blurring form caught the silver and glass object before it could hit the floor.He placed it gently on the bed before wrapping his arms around her.
Starla licked her lips.“What are you doing here?How did you find me?”
His arms locked around her waist like a loose band.“To answer your first question, I came to find you.As for how I found you...that is easy.You are part of me.When you left the safety of Savage and Aurora’s home, I felt the rip within the shield I’d set.”
A wave of guilt washed over her.She’d felt a tearing in her gut as she’d flashed out of the castle like home.Never in a thousand years did she think Scepter would experience kickback.
“I’m sorry.That wasn’t my intention.Honestly, it didn’t cross my mind that you’d be aware—”
There was anger and hurt in his blue eyes, quickly masked behind an unreadable façade.Goddess, she was a complete mess, and her shit was making him hate her.
“Don’t do that.”He shook his head, stopping her words.“I’m not mad at you for leaving.I’m upset you’d think I wouldn’t notice or care.Fuck, Starla.I’ve not thought of anything or anyone else since the moment I laid eyes on you.You’ve been my everything since I realized you were my bonded mate.For a male like me, we live each day, but we don’t truly live until we’ve found our one.I never thought I’d be blessed with a female, let alone one as amazing as you.You might think I hesitated because of your age, but it wasn’t as cut-and-dried as you assumed.I’m not denying your age shocked the hell out of me.It did.A hundred years ago, it might not have been a big thing in society.For me, even back then, I would’ve wanted you to live a little.So yes, I thought to delay our formal mating for that reason alone.”
“And now, do you wish you could stick a pin in it and wait a little longer?”she asked.Her breath froze in her throat.
Scepter growled.His eyes turned a shade of red she’d never seen before.Savage’s eyes had been that exact shade of blood-red once before.She shivered to recall the memory.It was when she’d been taken to Savage’s office by the disgraced alpha Garrison.Although they’d not spoken about the male, she knew he was no longer walking the earth as either human or shifter.Starla didn’t lose a wink of sleep with the knowledge.
“Why are your emotions all over the place, Anima Mia?”he asked, rocking them back and forth.
Honesty was the best policy.Never in her wildest dreams did she think she’d be standing in her childhood bedroom with the man of her dreams, giving him her heart on a platter.“You’re a beautiful male, inside and out, Scepter.The way you look at me, treat me, like you think I’m special.”She gave him a sympathetic smile.
“Ah, you think I’m mating down with you?Female, you’re delusional.It’s you who is far above my pay grade.I shouldn’t admit that to you.I’m grown enough to admit that, due to the shit I’ve gone through in life, I’m probably a bad bet.Most would say I’m difficult to deal with.If being territorial were a job title, I’d be the fucking boss.Self-sabotaging probably became a thing thanks to males like me.You’ll need a lot of patience to put up with me.But I also know that I can love like no other.I’ll give you the world, even as mine is falling apart.I’m loyal like no other motherfucker.I won’t give up until I have no other choice.Basically, you’re stuck with me until the last breath leaves my body, Anima Mia.”
She rose onto her toes, sealing her lips over his.Her mind opened, letting him see her love for him.He growled, spinning them.Her eyes closed, giving herself over to the pleasure and acceptance that they belonged together for all time.
“I’ll always come hunting for you, Starla.You could never run away from me, to where I wouldn’t find you.”
Chapter Fifteen
