“I don’t think we can ignore this.”
“Why not?It would be better for both of us, and definitely better for you.”
“I don’t see how.”
“I realize that I’m the only mate you’ll get.I’m sorry you got saddled with me, but you should probably start making your peace with the fact that you won’t have a mate.”
“I do have a mate.It’s you.”
Nic went to sit in the window seat.He didn’t say anything else, didn’t argue Tamsin’s point or anything like that, but then, it would be useless.They both knew that they were mates.There was no hiding that from each other.
Nic didn’t look happy.Was it because of what Tamsin was?Or was it because of the circumstances?“Is it because I’m a Vila?”he asked.
Nic didn’t look at him, but he snorted.“I don’t care what you are.Youshould care whatIam, though.I don’t know you, but I’m sure you must have lost plenty of people to Kudlaks.The only thing we’re good at is killing and hurting people.The people in this village are proof of that.You shouldn’t want to be anywhere near me, let alone be my mate.I don’t understand why you’re still here.”
“Because you wouldn’t be my mate if you weren’t a good person.”
“Unless Fate made a mistake.”
Tamsin didn’t think that Fate made mistakes.If she’d decided to pair the two of them, there had to be a good reason for it.He didn’t know the reason, but no matter what Nic seemed to think, he was unwilling to give up on their bond before they could do anything about it.
Was he overwhelmed?Yes.Was he stunned by the fact that his mate was a Kudlak?Of course he was.He’d always thought it would be a Vila like him, or maybe a Krsnik.Hell, it could have been a human, too.It could have been anyone but a Kudlak, who were sworn enemies of Krnisks and Vila.
But it wasn’t anyone else.It was Nic, and Tamsin truly believed that the two of them wouldn’t be fated to be together if Nic was a bad person.That meant that Nic wasn’t, and Tamsin had to help him.
“The fact that you’re my mate will help you,” he said.“When I tell the clan leaders, they’ll probably go easy on you.”
“You shouldn’t tell anyone.”
“You think I’m going to hide you?”
“You should.”Nic finally turned to Tamsin.“What good will it do to tell your family and your clan that we’re mates?No one here trusts me, and they’re right not to.I was a part of the attack against the village.A lot of people could have died or been hurt.”
“And they weren’t because of you.”
Nic stared at Tamsin for a moment.“I’m a Kudlak.I’m a monster.”
“Youarea Kudlak,” Tamsin agreed because there was no denying that.“It doesn’t make you a monster.It makes you a Kudlak, and that’s it.”He hesitated.“You’re very young, aren’t you?”
Nic narrowed his eyes but nodded curtly.“So what if I am?”
“You being young means you had nothing to do with what Parrish and other Kudlaks did in the past.You didn’t exterminate my clan.You didn’t kill everyone Rowan loves.”
“It doesn’t mean I didn’t hurt people.Parrish raised me.”
“And as soon as you were away from him, you went against him.He sent you to Devon for a reason, didn’t he?”
Tamsin might get the information Rowan and the others wanted, but it wasn’t what he was aiming for.Right now, he was just trying to show Nic that there was a future for them.He didn’t know what kind of future or how to get it, but he was sure of that.Eventually, they’d find a way to make it work.Tamsin had to believe it.
“Yeah,” Nic said.“He sent me to Devon to betray him, and I did.I think you should go.It’s probably better if you forget about me, but if you can’t, you should stay away.Nothing good can come out of this.”
Maybe he was right, but Tamsin wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
Chapter Two
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SEVERAL DAYS HAD PASSED, and Nic still didn’t know what to think of the mate situation.He’d seen Tamsin regularly since then, since Tamsin was the one to bring him food, and so far, his mate had been smiling and looking almost happy.
