Gran frowned, the lines around her face multiplying. “Jennifer, you come help too. It looks like Juniper needs a moment with her new man.”
My mother scowled.
“Right now, let’s hustle!” Gran said, snapping herfingers as she marched back out the door.
“Junie, don’t you dare leave. We are going to talk about this!” my mother said over her shoulder as she hurried out the back door. Daphne and Derek followed, leaving us alone in the living room.
Chapter 16
A Really Mad Selkie
Caspian
My blood raged. They’d threatened my mate, made her feel foolish and small. It was a good thing that shit stain had walked out with her cum dumpster sister. My hands shook as I held Juniper.
Her hands pressed to my chest, and I realized with a jolt that she was pushing me away. A tear slipped down her cheek as she glared at me.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You had no right to do that!” Another tear escaped, and my heart crumbled.
“What?” I asked dumbly.
“Now they’re going to think I’m insane. They already think I hired you as an escort, apparently. I don’t even knowhow I’m going to fix this. I mean, they’re my family.”
I reached for her, but she stepped back. I stiffened. “No, Juniper. I’m your family. They don’t treat you the way you deserve.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what I deserve.” She whirled away, pacing a few steps before turning back. Her delicate nose turned pink as she began crying in earnest. “I’ve been a total idiot. I can’t believe—Look, we just need to get rid of this whole beholden thing. I can’t do this anymore.”
She motioned between us, and she might as well have stabbed me in the heart.
Everything else faded away as my world narrowed to Juniper. I would not lose her. It wasn’t possible. Our souls were bound together.
“Juniper, you are going to listen to what I need to tell you.”
At the command in my voice, the pinched expression relaxed from her beautiful face. She braced herself against the kitchen counter and watched me, ready to listen like a good little mate.
Icy dread filled my stomach. This was going to be difficult for her, and it was all my fault.
“I didn’t tell you everything,” I started, watching her face to gauge her reaction. Her eyes narrowed a fraction, but she stayed frozen.
“The fact you had my coat doesn’t matter. There is no magic in that. It’s folklore for a sailor to steal a selkie’s coatand force her to come home with him, but it doesn’t happen anymore, and it was never magically compelled.”
Her voice was tight. “So you could have taken your coat and left at any time.”
“It means my feelings for you are real, not influenced by the fact you had my coat. But you were going to send me away, and I needed to be close to you.”
“You’re a fucking liar and a stalker,” she said, her eyes widening. Her breathing sped up. I wanted to hold her and soothe her, but I was also the cause of her fear, so I held myself back.
“No,” I said softly. “I have a very good reason.”
“What?”
“You’re my fated mate.”
I let the statement hang between us. I wasn’t sure what I expected—for her to rush into my arms and embrace the bond? Her expression hardened, her mouth thinning and eyes narrowing.
“I have no reason to think you’re telling the truth,” she said finally.
My shoulders slumped, but I’d never give up. “You feel the bond. I know you do. And we’ve been sharing dreams.”
