“I realized what you might be feeling, how it would confuse you, even frustrate you. How it might take longer than necessary for you to understand and decide.” His tone turned serious. “And because I am impatient to join with you, make you mine, and love you for the rest of our days. But only if you want the same.”
She shook her head befuddled by it all. “And what if I said it is not what I want?”
As soon as she spoke the words a sharp sting struck her heart that almost had her rushing her hand to her chest, but it was upon seeing the intense sorrow in his eyes that caused her the most pain.
Kaelan took a forceful breath. “Then I would say no more and never mention it again.”
“But if I am the one meant for you and I chose not t?—”
“That is for me to deal with, not you,” he said and abruptly released her hand and stood. “You need time, Bria. Time to understand what you feel without my emotions clouding yourjudgment.” He stepped away from her. “You need the freedom to decide for yourself.”
Bria’s chest tightened painfully at the tenderness behind the words. Because despite the fierce possessiveness she felt inside him, despite the overwhelming certainty of his love… Kaelan was still placing her choice above his own desires. And somehow that made her heart ache and her longing for him deepen even more.
She went to say something, but Kaelan had already opened the door and she let him go. They both needed distance from each other after this revelation.
Why then did his absence leave her aching so deeply inside her?
Kaelan stepped outsideinto the night before temptation stripped away the last of his restraint.
Cool air greeted him instantly. The heavy downpour had weakened to a soft steady drizzle, rainwater still dripping from the roofs and trees surrounding the village. Clouds drifted low overhead, hiding the stars while mist clung to the ground beyond the cottages.
He drew in a long breath and leaned back against the damp stone wall beside the door.
Distance. That was what he needed. Distance from Bria, from the scent of her, and from the startled look in her eyes when she realized he loved her.
He ran his hand over his jaw, frustrated. He should have left things as they were, given her time, allowed her feelings to grow naturally without placing the weight of his own upon her.
Yet even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew she deserved the truth and the time to come to terms with it, one wayor another. Even if the unthinkable happened, and she chose differently in the end.
The thought tore sharply through his chest.
Returning home alone… Kaelan shut his eyes briefly against it.
He had seen with his own eyes more than once what losing a life mate did to men and women as well.
Some Thornek who lost their mates eventually found comfort beside another who carried the same grief. They built quiet lives together, shared companionship, raised children even. But it was never the same. They never felt whole. Because once a Thornek truly bonded, part of them belonged forever to the one they loved. And when that bond broke… something inside them broke with it.
Kaelan’s thoughts drifted inevitably toward his grandfather. He was a large powerful man feared by enemies and respected throughout the Thornek villages. Though he towered over Kaelan’s grandmother, he was the gentlest of souls with her.
Kaelan could still remember returning from hunts as a boy and hearing his grandfather’s laughter carrying across the snow-covered village while he swept his petite wife into his powerful arms as though she weighed nothing at all.
She would scold him while laughing herself, demanding he put her down as he carried her towards their cottage despite her protests. They had six children together and shared a lifetime.
Then one bitter winter an illness took his grandmother.
Kaelan remembered those same strong arms cradling her gently upon the bed as her life slipped away. His grandfather had barely eaten or slept afterward.
The entire village watched the strength drain slowly from him with each passing day. Then only weeks later, Kaelan sat beside him near the hearth while the old man struggled for breath.
Yet when his grandfather looked toward the doorway as though he saw someone waiting there, peace suddenly filled his face.
“You’ll find your life mate one day, Kaelan,” he had whispered weakly. “Cherish her, for love is worth more than power or wealth.”
Then he smiled, reached out his hand as though someone stood waiting just beyond sight, and softly spoke his wife’s name before taking his final breath.
Kaelan opened his eyes slowly against the damp night. Now he completely understood. And it terrified him more than any beast roaming Driochmor ever could.
Bria remained seatedupon the bed after Kaelan stepped outside. The wood in the hearth popped and crackled. It was the only sound in the room. The cottage suddenly felt too quiet, too empty without him in it.
