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She glanced up at the broken window. “Last night, when you surrendered her to him, I read your mind. You were really going to let him have her.”
An unsteady breath stole through his lungs. “He ... saved her.”
She tilted her head. Despite Grace’s gentle nature, there was a shrewdness beneath her surface. She was no fool, nor did she mistake him for a completely selfless creature. “You won’t offer the same again,” she said, and he wasn’t sure if she read his thoughts or simply gathered as much from his humanlike flaws.
“No,” he agreed. His selflessness had limits, as did his honor. “She belongs to me.”
Her chin lifted, and he sensed a loyalty that hadn’t existed days ago. Not to him, but to his mate. If anything, Grace was a protective sister and Annalise was now her family. “Perhaps you should ask her opinion before you make any more assumptions.”
He looked away. “I will. I’ll beg if I have to.”
“You destroyed her last night. I couldn’t get a full read of her thoughts, but the things I saw... She’s alone, Adam. If you can’t honor your vow to stay with her for ewichkeit, then don’t go to her now.”
His jaw hardened. “I’ll never leave her. She’s my wife and my mate.”
“And if Cain changes his mind?”
“It’s too late. Cain shares a sire bond with her, nothing more. He cannot love her to the depths that I do.” He flattened his palm to his chest, feeling Annalise’s heart beat with his. “She’s in my soul. Not even death could strip her from me.”
Gracie nodded. “Good.” She stepped out of his way. “Then go to her.”
The house was silent when he entered, his father already out to work, his mother resting in her room. He took no pride in the devastation his action had wrought, and over the coming weeks he would do his best to help his mother understand this decision was the right decision for all of them.
He silently entered his bedroom. Annalise lay curled on her side, still as the mountains and as awake as the sky. Her eyes flashed open, diamond pupils stopping him as a low growl purred from her throat.
The changes to her physique were subtle but he noticed every single one. Her skin wore the blush of vitality only dulled by the salty tracks of her tears. Her feline like eyes tracked him with predatory awareness. Her hair was fuller, her lips a darker shade of pink. And her sorrow, an absolute tragedy that he took full responsibility for, only paled in the presence of her anger, which pulsed through the air with the intensity of white flames.
He held up his hands. “I’ve come to talk, ainsicht.”
She sprung from the bed, landing with incredible dexterity on her feet, her fangs flashing only inches from his face. “The time to talk is over.”
“You don’t wish to hear what I have to say?”
“I can’t bear to look at you, let alone listen to you.” Despite her effort to shield her emotions, he felt her pain. Not only was he a powerful empath, he was her mate. There could be no lies between them.
“Annalise,” he rasped, reaching for her. When he touched her skin, the full force of her emotions hit him and his knees buckled, the wind knocking out of him
She jerked her arm away and hissed at him. “Don’t touch me.” Her shield slid back into place, cutting him off from her emotions once more. Her control over such new abilities impressed him.
“I’m not proud of the things I’ve done, the things I said.” Her pain was his own, and he struggled under its unbearable weight to get through to her. “You felt betrayed, but I only ever wanted to do what was right by you. I thought you would want Cain, after his blood saved you.”
She scoffed. “That’s where we’re different. Science is different. It’s absolute. When humans are saved by someone else’s blood, we only thank medical intervention. There’s no new obligation to the donor.”
His gaze lowered. “Our kind is different. The bonding of mates is sacred. There’s no precedent for what happened last night. I only know what I’ve been taught.”
She glared at him. “If this was a true partnership you would have asked how I felt.”
“You’re right. I’m asking now. I love you, Anna. I want to spend eternity proving my love and loyalty to you and only you. Will you give me that privilege? Will you be my partner?”
Tears wavered in her eyes. She closed her arms protectively over her front and turned to the broken window. A light breeze feathered through her hair, and she lifted her chin.
“Your brother’s in the wind.”
He stepped closer, broken glass crunching under his feet. He felt the wind but could not sense Cain nearby. “You sense him?”
