And somehow, some-fucking-how, it made my pulse thump harder.
“Yeah,” I admitted softly. “She kind of was.”
Olivia’s grip tightened around my back.
“But honestly?” I exhaled slowly. “I couldn’t completely blame her.”
That got an immediate reaction. Her head snapped back so fast her braid whipped over her shoulder.
“What? She was total?—”
“She wanted a mate,” I interrupted. “And she knew I wasn’t it.”
Olivia scoffed loudly. Her fingers dug into my back hard enough to hurt.
“I know mates are important to supes?—”
“Not just important, themostimportant,” I corrected automatically.
She rolled her eyes so hard I had to smile.
“Fine. The most important. Whatever.”
God, the way she dismissed centuries of supernatural obsession like it was mildly inconvenient was ridiculously entertaining.
“But that doesn’t excuse cheating.” Her voice sharpened with every word. “She could’ve left.”
Her eyes flashed hot with anger now. “She could’ve ended things honestly then gone searching for whatever magical soulmate she wanted.” Her chin lifted defiantly. “Instead, she stayed where it was comfortable.”
Each sentence came down harder, full of righteousness.
“She chose convenience over character.” Then, with absolute conviction, she finished with, “So yeah. She was a big old bitch.”
The laugh ripped out of me before I could stop it, a real one, deep enough that my chest shook, because she was defending me with her whole heart. She was saying every ugly thing I’d never allowed myself to admit out loud.
Standing here with her wrapped around me, furious on my behalf, something deep inside me reached for her. Violently. Possessively.
Mine.
The feeling slammed through my chest with terrifying force, like recognizing something I’d been searching for my entire life.
Take her. Keep her. Love her.
Every instinct in me surged toward her all at once, and I almost listened to it until one name cut through it like a blade.
Rack.
My best friend. My brother. The man who saved me.
This woman was his Flame. His one chance at happiness.
The warmth inside me twisted painfully because the truth finally settled in. I was in love with Olivia, and she would never truly be mine.
I slowly let go of her shoulders.
Immediately, confusion creased her face. Her brows pulled together while her arms loosened around my waist like she didn’t understand why I was stepping away now.
I forced a smile anyway. Weak. Thin. The kind that hurt more to wear than to drop.
