Page 9 of Chaos At Second Sight

I let out a small shriek and stumbled away, hitting the back of my head on the rocks behind me. A small lizard, startled by my movements, slipped away into a crevice.

The look of pain that crossed his face hurt my heart deeper than those claws ever could.

“Mate hate Lucien.” His voice dropped, just like his head, and he turned away, his back to me now.

“No, wait.” Massaging my head, I reached out for his furry hand.

Sparks. Magical mate-bond sparks.

I swallowed, pawing at my neck. “I don’t…hate you.”

He gazed down at my hand wrapped around one of his clawed fingers and then back up at me. I let go, taking a step away.

“Mate scared of Lucien.”

A pang of guilt washed over me. “I’m sorry.”

His scent dominated everything. I felt sparks buzzing in the air, and he wasn’t even touching me! My brain struggled to keep up with the sensory overload.

I dared to look up at him and drew in a gasp. A lone tear trailed down his muzzle.

I had hurt him. Unacceptable.

I balled my hands into fists. Be brave, Yvaine. “I’m not scared.”

He pouted and averted his sad eyes. My nails dug half-moons into my palms, matching the day one peeking out in the sky. You can do better!

“Then…Mate thinks Lucien ugly?”

Ugly?

“Lucien, you are…” My voice trailed off as I searched for words that evaded me. Ugly had never crossed my mind. Mighty, colossal, impossible, yes. But ugly? Never. “Very handsome and immensely powerful.”

He perked up, peeking at me shyly. “Immensely? And very?”

I nodded.

“Mate promise?”

“Of course. I just…never expected you to be, well, you. I’ve never seen anything, er, anyone like you. You’re a surprise.” A life-altering and eye-popping surprise. But still a surprise. “I don’t know what you are.”

“Human call Lucien many names. Lucifer, mutt, beast, lycan⁠—”

My eyes widened. “You are a lycan.”

And, as hard as it had been to believe at first, Logan was somewhere in there.

The sparks, the blond lashes, and the scent were the only common traits, but he was Logan. Or an extension of Logan, my reindeer, the guy I’d fallen for long before I knew he was fated to be mine. Granted, I was still irritated with him and definitely owed him several lectures—maybe a few more wacks of an umbrella over that blond head—but he was my mate. My mythological mate.

I gathered courage. Come on, Yvaine.

Cheeks flushed, I edged closer then stopped, shifting from foot to foot, trying hard not to gaze up into his eyes. A sharp twinge of something very close to stage fright twisted in the pit of my stomach.

I rested a hand against his chest and rose on my tiptoes. The other pressed down on his shoulder, just as I’d done with Logan at the party. Before we kissed for the first time.

Lucien was wide-eyed and carefully still. He sucked in a sharp breath. Under my palm, his heart abandoned any typical rhythm.

Smiling, I brushed my lips against his…cheek. As if someone like him could have cheeks.