‘You know damn well what I’m talking about.' His words sounded like he was making a pointless request. Like he was asking for something he knew he’d never receive. ‘And you know who you are to me… Why are you treating me like this? I haven’t done anything to deserve this...’
Even if I would rather not admit it, I felt a little sorry for him. ‘What exactly do you expect of me? I honestly don’t understand what you want from me.’
Alec stepped away, creating space between us. It felt easier to breathe, yet uncomfortable. He was acting stranger than normal.
‘You don’t…’ he stopped, biting his lip as he looked in my eyes. ‘We are made for each other, why do you keep choosing random men when I am here?’
‘Excuse me?’ I asked, meeting his wild gaze.
‘You know we’re mates, and you keep fucking rejecting me at every turn. And I keep coming back because I hope you’ll eventually realise you want me, but even I’m starting to lose hope here.’
What the fuck was this guy’s problem? I placed a hand on his shoulder and explained slowly, ‘Honey, I am not your mate.’
He took a step forward. ‘I wish you weren’t. Life would be easier for both of us.’
My stalker might have been delusional, but the words still rang out in my ears, causing a dull ache somewheredeep inside. Did he think I wasn’t worthy of having a mate? ‘Even though I am not your mate, what makes you say that?’
His grave stare sharpened. ‘I saved your life. I made sure you were healed. I gave you my home. I provided for you all this time. There isn’t much more I can offer, so I think I will just let you be.’
‘What does that mean?’ I asked as he walked away toward the hills.
Stillness. He looked back at me. Then he disappeared.
Where has he gone?
Chapter Forty-Three
Willow
Iwalked inside looking for my younger sister, hoping she could shed some light on her brother’s recent disturbing claims.
A mate. How did he ever reach that conclusion? I was free as a bird, hoping for endless adventures, not a fate consisting of a single dick for the rest of time.
The entire idea was a foreign concept; I never bothered to familiarise myself with it. Anytime I did consider a family unit far in the future, it consisted of multiple men following my lead, not just one. And definitely not as annoying as my shadow-stalker.
The way he listed all the things he did for me… I never asked anything of him. Not once. If he expected gratitude, he could go fuck himself.
And then he just disappears like a child, not allowing me to explain that he must be mistaken. Why did I even feel the need to explain myself to him?
All this queen nonsense was messing with my head. Gratitude, ethics, and politics—the concepts I never had to consider had now become ingrained in my daily life. Did I even want to live like this? Did I have a choice?
My life was supposed to be carefree; the crown complicated everything, yet as much as I wanted to leave it behind, I couldn’t. It was my kingdom, and even if some of our people wanted it passed to somebody else, I saw the potential and all the good things that could come out of my rule.
Though, realistically, I could mess it up just as easily. Power was a slippery slope.
I pounded my fist on Ava’s door and waited. One second, two… Nobody answered, so I knocked more. She probably didn’t like me banging on her door.
I took a deep breath to calm myself down and knocked gentler. ‘Hey, Ava… I just want to talk. Are you there?’
Just as I was about to knock for the fourth time, the red-eyed sister walked by.
Miriam looked up from her phone and sighed. ‘She’s meeting her mate.’
‘What are you talking about?’ I demanded, convinced that she overheard my conversation with her brother and chose to poke fun.
But she only shrugged. ‘I don’t know; he wanted to talk to her so she went to see him.’
Something inside my stomach dipped. I didn’t know she found her mate. Was she a mated woman now? ‘Who?’
