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Faster and faster as her eyes began to shimmer.
Closer and closer, so damn close that he could now hear her thoughts, so fucking close that he realized she wasn't really seeing him because she was too busy remembering—-
Oh God, no.
His beautiful Star, standing outside the stables, hearing him say nothing when Fina joked about him marrying her instead—-
God. No. God.
His Star, listening to the twins tell her that the note he wrote wasn't for her—-
Please God. Noooo—-
His Star, crying her heart out because she believed that while he had chosen Misty, had chosen Fina, he had never chosen her.
I'm sorry. I'm so goddamn sorry.
The lines from the prophecy unfolded itself in his mind—-
A wall that breaks his heart
The one that shines to make it beat once more
A beast to overcome
And a betrayal that may ruin all
Everything made fucking sense now. Only when it was too goddamn late, he finally understood that the betrayal the prophecy spoke of...
It was him, he realized numbly. It had never been Estrella. It had always been him, betraying her love and trust in him—-
Lysander.
His head jerked up, her shaky voice hauling him back to the present. The vampires were dead. His men were cheering. Fina was running towards him while her brothers circled around his wife protectively. So many damn things happening, but all he had eyes for was her—-
Goodbye.
And then she was running away.
WAIT. PLEASE. WAIT.
The prince sounded desperate in her mind. But she told herself not to listen. He was just going to lie again. And she was tired, so, so tired of being second best.
Star—-
She ran faster even as she choked back a sob. Don't call me that!
The pain in her voice drove both man and beast insane. Please. Just give me another chance-—
The sound of hysterical laughter cut him off. A-another c-chance? Another hysterical laugh lashed his mind. I know everything now, remember? So I know...I know you never wanted a chance with me-—Her voice broke.
And the beast of him howled as it sensed Estrella's own heart shattering in pieces.
I know you'll d-die if you try to destroy our bond.
Lysander whitened. Once broken, their bond could never be repaired again, and he could not - would fucking not let that happen. He gazed at her shrinking form in the distance, despair having given her extraordinary speed. Star, please—-
I'll d-do it for the both of us-—
He knelt down and dug his claws into the soil, and the earth began to move. He heard her cry out as the soil under her started changing.
Estrella fought hard to regain her balance. Stop this!
His claws dug deeper, and the changes became more rapid. Not until you listen to me.
The land she was trying to balance herself on suddenly dipped, like a flat and even road gaining a downward slope out of the blue. It had her stumbling and falling, rolling and tumbling down...until she found herself landing on her butt and a twelve-foot beast staring down at her.
A beast with the most hurtfully beautiful violet eyes—-
She started to cry, and the sight devastated him. One would think that Estrella in her Lyccan form would look fiercer, but no. With her blood-matted fur, her green wolf eyes silently welling up with tears -—she had never looked more fragile, and it killed him, knowing he was the one who had hurt her.
The beast sank to its knees. I'm so fucking sorry.
Then let me go, she sobbed in his mind. You never wanted me, never chose me—-
I'm choosing you now, he said savagely.
But she just shook her head, and the beast howled as fear and desperation ravaged the man. He could feel her slipping from him, her mind frantically doing its best to build walls between them, and the growing distance was pushing Lysander towards the furthest edge of his sanity.
Listen. Please. Just please goddamn listen.
But for every wall he demolished, she kept building new ones, higher and unscalable ones that were filling him with terror. He started to shift, thinking that by holding her and kissing her his touch might convey what his words couldn't. But the moment the wind turned icy, he heard her cry out—-
Don't!
The walls in her mind wavered at the depth of her distress, enough to let him catch a glimpse of what she was hiding—-
I d-don't think I'll be able to stand myself if I see you...knowing...
And that was when he saw the girl hiding within the wolf.
Please...please don't make me see you now—-
She wasn't just crying. Wasn't just hurting. She was fading.
I w-wouldn't be able to bear it.
Because he had made her believe she wasn't bright enough to shine.
MY LOVE.
Whispered so faintly, the words almost didn't register, and only when he spoke again did Estrella realize that she hadn't imagined hearing him say the words.
Listen to me one last time, my love.
