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Daphne let out a long sigh. She looked at me with a serious expression. I waited to see if she would say anything, but she kept quiet. She didn’t seem to want to be around me. Why was she so on edge? Normally people liked me, especially women, so I wasn’t sure how to deal with this situation.
“Walk with me?” I hoped she wouldn’t refuse me.
I’d never before had to chase after anyone as I now had to do with my mate but I had to admit that the challenge was fun. I was sure I would overcome this dilemma just as easily as I overcame everything else in life. I wouldn’t have been much of an Alpha if I was scared of competitions and getting Daphne to like me could indeed prove to be difficult.
My mate nodded, and I led her out of the village through the main gate. Children were playing in the square, kicking a ball between each other. I smiled at the sight. There weren’t many kids here, but I treasured the ones we had. They were precious parts of the sleuth.
At the gate Adans and Engel were on guard duty again. They gave us wide smiles, happy to see their Alpha with his mate. The whole village hoped that Daphne would soon accept Esteban and me. The fact that nobody had spilled the beans about the mating yet was a miracle.
I would have to come clean with Daphne soon but first I needed to get her to like me.
“What brings a beautiful woman like you to Isla Paraiso?” I asked her in a light tone when we were a little out of earshot of the guards.
I soon realized I had chosen the worst question to start our conversation as Daphne froze and turned to me with furrowed brows.
“I don’t want to talk about something so personal. Is that why you took me out here? To question me?” She put her hands on her hips.
My mouth gaped open, shocked by her outburst. I put my hands in front of me in a gesture of surrender. “Hey, don’t shoot! I was just trying to get to know you better.”
“Why do you want to learn more about me?” She continued answering me with questions.
I swallowed. I didn’t quite want to tell her yet that I was motivated by the pull I felt towards her, especially when she so clearly had no interest in my natural charms. She could easily reject me now. The thought terrified me.
“You don’t even want to grace me with an answer,” Daphne continued when the silence prolonged.
“Wait–,“ I started, suddenly feeling like apologizing although I didn’t think I had done anything wrong but she wouldn’t let me speak.
“I know you two didn’t rescue me out of the goodness of your hearts. You want something from me. Until you tell me what it is, don’t try to get all buddy-buddy with me.”
My mouth closed in a tight line. I wouldn’t tell her now; the risk of rejection was too great.
Daphne huffed and turned around. She stomped back into Santuario, passing by the two surprised guards. I followed her with a deep sigh. There was no point in staying outside of the village with nobody to keep me company.
The conversation hadn’t gone at all as I had wanted. Even though five days had passed, Daphne was still terribly on edge. Until I got her to relax there was no point in talking about mating. I had to figure out a way for her to feel safer around me. I wanted her to wish to get to know me better too.
***
“And then she walked away from me,” I finished recounting the events of the evening to Ban. We both sat in our living room, drinking beer, relaxing after a day of hard work maintaining order and peace in Santuario.
Esteban chuckled. “Did you think our mate would be like the other girls who just fall into your lap?”
I pondered his question for a moment. Daphne was nothing like the other women I had been with before. She was like an impregnable fortress, even harder to siege than Fort Torres.
“Honestly I never thought I would meet someone I’d like to mate with. So I never really imagined what that person would be like…” I voiced my thoughts. “No, that’s a lie. I imagined someone with a lot of warmth who would love me unconditionally and never leave me. Who would be with me despite my faults. With whom I could grow into a better version of myself.”
Was Daphne this person for me? She had to be, because otherwise I wouldn’t feel so attracted to her. But I didn’t really know her, and she hadn’t exactly made learning more about her easy for me.
I considered the few things I did know about Daphne. She must have a lot of inner strength because her experience with Victor hadn’t broken her. Her capture had rattled her, sure, but that response wasn’t unexpected. Being kidnapped and threatened would make anyone scared.
Daphne was beautiful. I had never seen a woman so gorgeous in my entire life. With long brown hair that fell down her back in waves, a slim figure with just enough curves, and intelligent stormy gray eyes, she was a sight to behold. She was also kind to the people of Santuario when she worked as a waitress but I could see she had trouble opening up to everyone but Yoselin.
There was something in Daphne’s past which made her not trust easily; something that had hurt her even more than the kidnapping. If I figured out what her demons were, I could promise her that I would vanquish them. Until then, I just had to work with what I knew about Daphne… even though it wasn’t really much.
Esteban finished his beer as he watched me think. He opened another one and took a sip. “You’re awfully deep in thought. Did her refusal to talk to you rattle you that much?”
“It did,” I admitted. I wasn’t a person who could get offended easily, and yet things with Daphne were different. “My feelings are truly hurt.”
Esteban laughed out loud.
