"I'm sorry," he said, startling her so badly that her plate almost slid from her lap before she steadied it.
"You don't apologize ever. What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly worried. "Help me to understand what is up with you and maybe I will stop aggravating you so much when I don't mean to."
Tenebrys put his plate back on the tray and ran his hands through his mane. "You don't know much about shifters, so I'm going to have to explain this... It's not the way I would want to do this…"
"Just tell me. I'mnotyour enemy." Delphi leaned over and rested a hand on his knee. "I think I made that pretty obvious in the bathtub just now."
Tenbrys huffed out an awkward laugh. "You know how my dick has a knot?"
"Yes, I was just up close and personal with it," she teased, needing to hear that laugh again.
"Oh, gods, stop or I'll get hard again," he complained, which only made her giggle more. The laughter helped break the tension, and Tenebrys gave her a look of mock disapproval.
"Delphinium, you aren't making this easier. Behave or I'll make you behave. No, don't you dare say whatever you just thought."
Delphi pressed her lips together, smothering her mirth. "I'm stopping. I'm sorry. You were telling me about your knot. Please continue. It's a subject I definitely want to know more about."
"Dark goddess Rosemerta, spare me from this female," Tenebrys mumbled under his breath. He let out a frustrated breath. "Knots only appear on shifters when we meet our mates, Delphi."
All the laughter died inside of her as his words and their implication sank in.
"Oh. And you think I am your…" She didn't know how to finish her sentence.
"Iknowyou are," he said evenly. "It's why I could always find you in dreams. It means I will always protect you until I have no breath left in my body, whether you hate me or not."
"I don't hate you, Tenebrys. I never have. I've been annoyed and angry at you, but I've never hated you," she replied. He still wasn't looking at her. "This is a lot to take in. I suppose it does explain why I would seek you out in dreams as well, and why I've never physically reacted to another man the way I have with you. That's part of the bond, right?"
Tenebrys nodded. "Yes. I don't know why Fate and the goddess has brought us together this way."
"Because you won't ever be able to accept me because I'm Narcisse's daughter?" she asked. If there were any hatred between them, it would be because of all the damage her parents had caused him. The worst part was that she understood why he would hate the sight of her.
"Would you ever be able to get past that, Tenebrys?" she asked, dreading the answer. "I know I'm not exactly an ideal choice for you as a mate. It's a really special bond for shifters, and I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to be tied to someone like me. My family hurt you so much, and now you're a targetwith the fae because of me. It would be easier for you to hand me over to them?—"
Tenebrys cut her off with a warning growl. "I willnevergive you to the fae. I don't give a fuck that you're Narcisse's daughter either. Not anymore. I tried so hard to hate you, and I just can't do it."
"Then what?—"
"Lookat me. I'm a fucking beast, Delphi." He gestured at his face. "I'm not exactly a prize mate for anyone."
Delphi thought about all the memories she had been struggling with the day before. She had done a lot in her life that she fought not to be ashamed of.
"I'm a beast too, Tenebrys. I can just hide it better," Delphi replied softly, hugging herself around her stomach. "I've never had a problem with the way you look either. I thought it was obvious with how my body reacts around you. How about I sit on your face some more until the message sinks in?"
"That would be one way of going about it." Tenebrys chuckled and finally looked at her. "Despite your acceptance of my looks, I'm not going to pressure you into a mating bond, Delphi. Not until you ask me to. As I said, you aren't a shifter, and this can be a lot to accept."
"What would be involved in a mating bond exactly?" she asked, wanting to know everything.
Dear goddess, Delphi really hoped his mother had a shelf of books on shifters in her library that she could read.
"You take my knot, and I say the ritual words that make it official," Tenebrys replied. "After that, we will have a bond. I would always be able to feel you and find you. It's unbreakable, which is why you'll have to want it truly. Afterward, I would never be able to let you go."
Delphi bit her lip."And would you let me go now if I asked you to?"
Tenebrys was silent for so long that she knew the answer. He ran a hand through his mane. "I want to say yes, Delphi, but I don't think my lion side would be able to do it. You are in danger, not just in the woods but in the wider world. You are a witch, and your power will only grow. You will be hated in Chantelun, and even if you went to other realms, you would still be hunted. People would want to use you for your power just like the fae do."
"And like Narcisse," she muttered. "He took the money I was saving and wasted it all because he knew I was going to leave him. He admitted it to me, face-to-face, that I was too important to his work to be allowed to go. Not because he loved or cared about me. Because he wanted me for his fuckingwork." Delphi stared at the fire, her anger turning into fierce and deep desire inside her. "I need to learn about my magic, Ten. I have to make sure I can protect myself and so no one can ever use me again."
"I'll help you in any way I can," he promised. "It's why I wanted to give you my mother's library. If any books could help you, these will. The magic in them originates from Faerie, like yours does. That part of you is probably why you were so temperamental on the full moon too. It messes with fae and shifter alike."
