Learning that he was her brother was a relief, even if it complicated the situation further. Still, I couldn’t resent the fact she had found relatives.
Avari had a family. A real family who appeared to care for her the way her witch one never had. I found some solace in knowing that every wrong choice I’d made had brought my mate closer to her kin, even if it meant she hated me.
We were fated for each other. Her resentment had to be temporary… right?
Even though I knew the answer, over the last fortnight I had become a master at deluding myself.
I poured another whisky and stared at the map spread across my desk.
This kind of betrayal… I had been so blinded by hatred that I never recognised her. Her very scent should have told me who she was—who she could become. Instead, I accused her of cursing me.
I attempted to kill my mate.
The fact that I ever laid hands on her would haunt me until the end of my days. Until my last breath, I would fight to atone for it.
She nearly died so many times in my care… Whether it was my fault or her mother’s curse didn’t matter. Ava deserved better. She deserved safety, stability, and devotion.
I traced the edge of a document with my finger.
She deserved someone better. Stronger. Kinder. What she deserved wasn’t me, but fate had paired us for a reason. I felt her fire thrashing beneath her skin, trying to reach mine. I felt her relax beneath my touch and calm down, surrounded by my power.
She might not have wanted me. I understood that. But she responded to me and needed me as much as I needed her. Even if it made me a selfish prick, I would fight for a chance at redemption with everything I had. Hopefully, I still had that chance.
The moment I approached her, my heart broke. No one else seemed to notice how rigidly she held her shoulders and how exhausted she looked.
Then frustration threatened to scorch me alive for an entirely different reason... My mate smelled of another man. The scent clung faintly to her hair.
Flames stirred to life beneath my skin. It disgusted me. If the man who left that scent stood before me now…
I would relish his pain.
Some dark, twisted part of me wanted to find him and make him pay for touching my mate. Every part of my bodyscreamed to keep her in Fogoya at all costs—to keep her close so I could protect her and keep her mine.
The scraps of logic remaining in my mind fought against these instincts, knowing it would only drive her further away.
Reining them in wasn’t easy. It was a constant battle I was fairly certain I could lose at any point. Fae women had been raised aware of how possessive their mates could become. They knew how to handle it and grew up expecting it. But my little witch hadn’t been raised around mates at all. She knew harems.
Would I ever be enough for her?
As much as I hated the mere thought, she must have found somebody she liked in her father’s land. I couldn’t blame her. But even if she wanted to fuck me out of her system, I wouldn’t let her. I wouldn’t go easily.
One thing was certain. I wouldn’t stop. Not until every cell in my body stopped working.
She was my perfect match and the other half of my soul. This was just a hurdle. All it meant was that I had to try harder to show her I wasn’t a monster—and that we belonged together.
Blaze sauntered into my office, smelling of tears, sweat, and wine. ‘Are you still moping?’
The tears must have been from the recent reunion with our mother. The others I didn’t care to contemplate. Ever since he stopped feeling murderous toward Emily, they were rarely apart except when caring for Isla.
I couldn’t blame them, even if I’d decided to move the floor because of the noise. Their contentment reminded me how badly I had ruined my chance at happiness.
Pushing a stack of reports aside, I glanced at my older brother. ‘It’s called thinking. Try it sometimes before you speak.’
As broad-shouldered as he was, he barely fit in the small chair across from me. ‘Did I hit a nerve?’
Releasing a sigh, I downed the remainder of my whisky before speaking. ‘Don’t you have Emily to bother?’
‘She’s at work, so I need someone else to pester. What a colossal fuck-up, no?’
