Page 76 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

Kieran gives me a small smile. “You will. I have faith you will know that we have a connection. I don’t know when you will believe me, but I’m not giving it up. It can be twenty years from now before you believe me and every single time we see each other, every single day I will try to convince you that we are mates. I will never give up on you.”

“I want to know why Elias bowed to me and you,” I demand.

“And I’m not going to tell you. Not until you fully accept the bond between us. It won’t make sense until you do,” he says before fully standing up. “Now, I’m going to break the ice into smaller pieces as you wait and rest, and I will fill up your bucket.”

I take a step back and watch him getting to work. It’s so kind of him to do this for me when he doesn’t have to. This is the second time he’s done this to help me.

“Whenever I have free time, I will break up more ice and leave it here for you in case I cannot come when you are next here. I don’t want you hurting yourself. Do not worry about it anymore, I will help you. All you’ll have to do is fill your buckets and carry them back. Though, I do wish I was able to help more.” Kieran sighs as he continues on his task. “I don’t want you carrying a heavy bucket. I don’t want you possibly hurting yourself. I want you in the house, relaxed and doing something you love, but I know you have responsibilities.”

My heart melts at his words. I can’t help but stare at him as he works. Why is he being so kind to me? I don’t deserve him or any of this, but the way he has been taking care of me and making sure everything is okay makes me weak at the knees. Makes me see him in a whole new way.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he asks, smiling.

I shake my head. “Thank you,” I say, and I mean it. “Thank you for doing this for me. I really appreciate it.”

He places the last piece of ice in my bucket and sets it right next to me. Bending, he kisses my forehead and I close my eyes, taking it in.

“Anytime,” he gently purrs. “Now, off you go. You need to get out of the cold. Make sure you get home safely. I’ll watch for as long as I can.”

I smile and pick up my bucket, heading home.

“Adeline?” he calls out.

“Yes?” I turn to look at him.

“Make sure you don’t tell anyone we are mates.”

My eyebrows pull together. “Why?” I ask.

I wasn’t going to tell anyone anyway.

“People may hurt you if they find out you are my mate,” he gently says.

“I won’t tell anyone,” I softly reply. “I want to believe you, but I just… I need to wrap my brain around everything.”

My heart aches as I say those words. Everything is getting so overwhelming, and I don’t know what all to believe. I need to think about it, really think about everything and if I trust Kieran and what he is telling me.

“You will soon.” He smiles.

CHAPTER 20

It’s been a day since Kieran healed my finger twice. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around everything he has told me and what happened. I continue to scrub the pot as I try to work through my thoughts.

“Adeline?” Mother calls out.

“Yes?” I ask, looking over at her.

Mother is currently sewing some men’s pants together and soon she’ll be working on dresses. Her dresses are stunning, and she’s offered to let me have one, but I feel bad taking it when I don’t necessarily need them. Sure, mine have a lot of patches, but they do what they need to do right now.

But I would do anything to have a new dress and be able to show Kieran.

My hands still on the pot at the thought. Once again, I’m thinking about Kieran and what he would think. I think back to when he healed my finger. That was just the other day, but it feels like a lifetime ago. I’m still trying to comprehend whether it actually happened or if he was playing some kind of mind game on me.

Looking down at my hand, I look at where Kieran healed me. Soft little scars are still there, making me realize that what happened was real. It wouldn’t leave a scar and stay if it was mind tricks. I thought about asking my mother to see if she can see them, but I don’t want her to ask a lot of questions and get worried about me.

Maybe Kieran and I really are mates. I feel a connection with him, the tug he has talked about, and the calming effect he gives me whenever he feels that I am stressed or worried about something. I have felt all of those things and yet I don’t want to truly believe that we are mates.

What will this mean for me?