With that, she walked away.
I was so fucking sick of watching her walk away.
I reported what we’d found to Lucien, more than content to let him handle the next steps of the investigation. He arched an eyebrow when I told him about Elodie seeing pixie magic at the crime scene, but didn’t comment other than to say he’d let the rest of the group know.
I stalked back to my cottage in the darkest mood I’d ever been in. It made no sense because finding your mate should be a joyous occasion.
And she’d confirmed it. She was mine, and I was hers. We should be riding high, learning everything there was to know about each other as we fell in love.
Yet here I was, slamming the door on my dark, empty home so hard the frame shook. Finally alone, I roared, loosing all the twisted emotion that threatened to strangle me in one, pained sound.
A light flickered on in the hallway, and I swore.
“V?” Savvy called, running down the hall, still in her bathrobe, even though it was late afternoon. I heard her bedroom window open and footsteps running away.
Ahh.
“Seriously? In our house?” I muttered, stomping toward the kitchen and ignoring her worried expression.
“Umm, yes, because I’m a grown woman and free of my Goddess-damned fiancé after over a year of celibacy.”
“I do not need the details about my baby sister’s love life,” I snapped, yanking the refrigerator door open a little too hard, the whole appliance rocking dangerously.
“Whoa now, big guy.” She inserted herself neatly between me and the fridge, slipping the door shut and backing me up until the back of my legs hit the kitchen stool. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Speak.”
Savvy snapped the command at me like she would a dog, clearly not afraid of me, even in my darkness.
Granted, she’d seen me there before.
Even losing Hanna hadn’t felt like this.
“She doesn’t want me, doesn’t want to stop being a maiden. And today, she got hurt, I grabbed her shoulder on instinct… and her wolf claimed mine. It’s official. We’re mates. And she couldn’t have been more devastated.” Once the words started tumbling out, it felt better to share the burden.
“That bitch,” my sister hissed, face turning red with her fury.
“No, she’s not. She’s got a purpose with the maidens, and she doesn’t want to give it up. After what she told me about her family today, though… I understand why. It’s complicated.” I scrubbed a hand over my jaw, bristly beard hairs getting knocked all out of whack in the process, but I didn’t care.
“Purpose? Seriously? She can find a new purpose. Being mated is the one thing we all hope for, and she, what, thinks she’s too good for you? I want to slap her.”
“Savvy, no. If I’m going to confide in you, you have to keep that shit to yourself. We’ll work it out. It’s just… not going to be as smooth as I thought. I told you, I’m going at her pace.” The reminder settled me a bit, making it easier to let go of some of the despair.
I never wanted to be a burden or a hindrance to my mate. But that’s all I was right now.
“Fine.” She ground the word between her back teeth like it had personally insulted her. “But I don’t have to be happy about it. She mistreats you, she’s got a problem with me.”
I stood up from the stool and crossed the short distance to hug my sister. She barely came up to my chest without her favorite heels, but still, she wanted to protect me.
Side effects of growing up without your parents, I supposed. You fought for the family you had. Elodie was our family now too. If only she’d let us be.
Chapter 9
Elodie
Iwas shamelessly avoiding my partner. I’d crawled into bed before sundown, before she’d even made it back to our temporary cottage for the evening.
When she’d cracked open my door to check on me, I’d pretended to be asleep, hoping she didn’t notice the tears soaking my pillow.
Then this morning, I’d gotten up before the sun to run in the forest.
