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He’s furious with me.
“You can’t make me go.” I cross my arms over my chest, tilting my head in defiance. I’ve never been the type to back down from authority. I won’t let my brother try to bully me now. “I’m not ready to go.”
He blurs until he is standing in front of me, his eyes glowing the color of rage, and his fangs lengthen. He has the longest cuspids I’ve ever seen, and I won’t lie, if he could, he’d scare the immortality out of me.
“I am not speaking as your brother.” He tilts his head, narrowing his gaze at me. One of his children coos from behind him and I peek around his shoulder to see Maven standing therewith Esmeray in one arm and Enver in the other. “I am not speaking as your friend.”
That statement has my attention back on his as he looms over me.
“I am speaking as your master. You will go to your beloved. You will at least have a conversation with him. Do I make myself clear?”
I swallow, those pesky tears burning my eyes again. “Lexy—”
“Do not call me that,” he roars.
Uncle Luca is suddenly in front of me, shoving Alexander in his chest. “And I am not threatening you as a coven member, but as your uncle. You will not speak to her like that. You have no idea what we went through in the veil. You have no clue!” he screams, shoving Alexander again, and I gasp from the outburst.
If he continues, Alexander might take that as a challenge.
Esmeray and Enver begin to cry from the noise.
Alexander rushes to his family and strokes his children’s cheeks. They calm at his touch, their loud wails silenced with love.
“Beloved, please go into the library while I deal with this. I do not want to upset the twins.”
Maven nods, standing on her tiptoes and giving Alexander a kiss on the cheek. She whispers something in his ear before leaning away and narrowing her eyes at him. My brother casts his gaze to the floor, nodding as if he is a child being scolded.
The only person in existence who can put him in his place is our coven witch.
Uncle Luca spins around, one hand on my shoulder while the other slides under my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“Are you okay?” he asks, a worried tone replacing his usual light-hearted one.
I nod. “I’m fine. He’s only worried about me. He’s handling it the best he can.”
“We are all worried about you.” A sad smile ghosts over his face, his thumb rubbing under my eye. “You don’t have much time. We’ve come too far to get to where we are, we have fought to stay alive, and we have beat the fields of the veil to be in this exact moment.”
There it is again, the familiar fear rooted inside me that while they finally get to live here, in peace with the family, I’ll be absent again, missing out on all the moments that make this coven my home. No one understands.
Paranormals wait their entire lives for a mate, some believing that they are only alive to meet their other half. Everything in our lives seems contingent on what Fate has in store for us.
And Fate scares me because, for the first hundred-plus years of my life, she has not been kind to me.
I don’t want my life to be dependent on anyone else. I want to be able to live my life how I want. I’m tired of being an inch away from death. There’s a part of me that wishes I never met Cailian, that he stayed away, but then there’s another part that misses him so much, my breath is stolen, and all I want to do is breathe him in.
It isn’t fair. I know that might sound childish. Many would call me stupid for prolonging this pain instead of giving in to my beloved, but I don’t want to mate with him because Ihaveto.
I want towantthat bond more than I want to be here at home with my family.
“I know, Uncle Luca, but I need more time. I just…” I ring my fingers together, then press the heel of my palms against my eyes to stop the tears. “I’m not ready to leave you or anyone else. Please,” I choke, falling against his chest. “Not after everything. I need to be here. With you and… and Greyson.” My words begin to sound desperate. “What if he isn’t okay? What if he tries to…” I stop before I can say it because watching him die one time was enough.
“I’ll be fine.” Uncle Greyson’s voice startles me, and I jump, spinning around to see him by the window, staring at the new lake in our field for Irving and a few others. “Don’t miss out on your beloved because of me or for anyone.” He crosses his arms, turning his head to look at me as he leans against the wall. “We are home now, Rarity. Home will never disappear, but your beloved will. You will. My mind is free from death. I promise.”
“I just worry about you,” I state.
“And we worry about you.” Alexander’s commanding voice cuts through our conversation.
Luca and I turn to him while Greyson pushes off the wall to stand next to me. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, tugging me close.
