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"Let's try and see." She knocked and soon Nora's voice said to enter. Yesenia poked her head inside the room and a beat later, she gestured. "They signaled for you to go in. It's your turn."
Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside the large sitting room. The dark-haired, green-eyed Dr. River Vale was next to the chaise lounge near the window, sitting on a stool and putting something back into his medical bag. Stone knew the fae witch from their training sessions—the other male had been working hard to build up his strength to better defend his wife—which meant he could merely nod at River in greeting.
River waved a pale hand toward the female on the red chaise lounge, her body mostly covered with a blanket, and said, "Go ahead and see if she's yours."
He walked closer and paused a beat when he finally saw her face.
She had black hair that fell a little past her shoulders, light tan skin, and the pointed ears of fae witches. She looked young, so fucking young, and yet was easily the most beautiful female he'd ever seen. Her lips looked soft, so soft, and he felt the urge to kiss her.
But then he remembered who he was and Stone had a hard time believing her radiant, unmarred skin would want his rough, scarred, and calloused hands to touch hers, let alone allow him to kiss her.
Nora Vale—the Dark Lord's sister and now River's wife—said softly beside him, "All it will take is a touch, Stone. No need to look like she's about to slit your throat with a knife."
Mentally cursing himself for letting his usual hard façade slip, he moved closer to the chaise lounge. He wasn't scared, he just bloody well wasn't.
After cracking his knuckles, he leaned down and kept his fingers a hairsbreadth away from hers.Stop fucking stalling and get it over with.
If he had a beating heart, he would've taken a deep breath. Instead, he clenched his jaw and brushed his fingers over the back of her small hand.
Time slowed and for a beat, he thought he'd touched her without responding.
Then a deafening sound clambered in his head, and again, as if a church bell was sounding off in his mind. He immediately slapped his palms over his ears, trying to quell the bloody noise. But that did nothing, and the sound sped up little by little into a fucking loud, steady rhythm.
He stumbled back, trying to get away from the noise to no avail. A few seconds later, he sucked in a giant gulp of air, and then another, as if he'd die if he didn't take in as much as possible.
With each inhalation, the sound dulled bit by bit. He had no bloody idea how long it'd been, but as his breathing finally slowed, he muttered, "Fuck."
Touching the female had blooded him.
She was his fated bride.
Which now meant he had to bite her, drink her blood, and come inside her at least once or he'd slowly go mad until he lost his mind.
"Fuck," he repeated as he opened his eyes and stared at the mysterious female. After a beat, he looked from her hands—perfect and dainty—and then to his—massive with his smallest fingers slightly bent from bad breaks—and he wondered how the fuck she was supposed to be his.
He didn't deserve anyone's love, he knew that. But he also didn't deserve such a lovely, young, and innocent-looking bride.
And if she had family she wanted to return to? She was going to hate him forever.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.Why hadn't he asked Yesenia not to include him in her pool of potential candidates? He may have helped his employer's wife, but in the process, he'd bloody well ruined this poor female's life.
Nora was at his side again. "It'll work out, I know it will. I've known you nearly as long as Leo has. On occasion, I've even seen beyond the wall of rock you project to the world. And I know you have a protective, caring heart, Stone." She lightly touched his arm. "Don't give up before you've even tried. I nearly did that and then I would've never found the happiness I have now."
If he were the type to speak his mind, he'd point out that Nora was the one with a soft heart, not him.
Stone didn't really acknowledge feelings, apart from those that kept him alive, such as fear or anger.
And yet, as the female shifted a little in her sleep and then settled, the urge to hold her close, growl at anyone who tried to hurt her with words or actions, and never let her out of his sight coursed through him.
His bloody shifter mother had passed on that extra amount of protectiveness. Not that his mother had felt a fucking soft, caring thing toward him. But generally shifters were even more protective of their fated ones than vampires, and that was saying a lot.
River moved to stand in front of him, his dark brows raised. "I agree, don't look like you're preparing for a fucking funeral, Stone. Besides, on a positive note, you can get hard again. That's something to look forward to, right?" Stone scowled and River rolled his eyes. "A sense of humor wouldn't kill you. At any rate, I need to make sure the female wakes up and is in good health before Yesenia and I tell her what's going on. Only then can you chat with her for the first time. She's most definitely going to need her fucking strength to deal with everything that's about to come crashing down on her."
Stone's gaze moved back to the sleeping female with pointed ears. Crashing down sounded about right.
She might have made his heart beat again, but she was about to wake up to the nightmare of him.
Right then and there he vowed he'd do everything to make her life as comfortable as possible. Even if she wanted to live apart, to never see him once he claimed her, he'd agree to it.
