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Except, it’s not. It’s not at all. He’s the only one of them who could possibly understand. We’re tricking them. They’re not really supposed to be with me. They could find their real mate any damn day and discover the truth. I could lose my life. My father and grandmother could lose their safety. Surely he has to understand that this subject is more complicated than this?
What’s more… I’m realizing that part of my fear with all of this has to do with how much I’ve hated the fae all my life. They’re cruel. They’re awful in so many ways. How am I just supposed to forget the way their kind has treated me all my life?
I feel anger, fear, and frustration roll through me. “Have I not been through enough? I was kidnapped, beaten, and chained. Forced to cook and clean up after a house full of thieves. I had to move a dead bodyandclean up the trail of blood left behind. Isn’t that enough?”
Prince Sulien takes a step forward, but I keep going.
“How can you expect me to make such a huge decision right after all of that?” I’m panting and my hands are trembling.
Prince Zane approaches me and takes my hand. Prince Sulien doesn’t move, so my gaze locks onto Prince Zane’s. His pale white hair has been combed back from his face, but a little falls forward. Without thinking, I reach up and comb it back from his face, then jerk my hand back as his eyes widen.
No, that doesn’t mean anything. It’s the dreams confusing me.
Prince Zane speaks. “We can make you happy, I swear.”
But will I make you happy? Me? I’m a broken thing. A girl with a dead mom. A girl who only knows how to do some basic cooking, who can clean, and not much else. Someone uninteresting and boring.
When the shine of all this mate bullshit wears off, these men will regret being with me.
I pull my hand from his. “I just got back.”
Prince Zane stares at his hand with those gorgeous eyes of his, looking hurt.
“We understand that, but we need to know.” Prince Forrest says quietly.
My gaze goes to his. The giant flinches when my eyes meet his, and he shrinks back like he doesn’t want me to look at him. I think of the Prince Forrest from my dream. The vulnerable man. He’d take my rejection like a blow. Would this man just move onto the next woman?
I wrap my arms around myself. “I don’t know, okay.”
Prince Cobar takes a step closer. His pants dark green and sinfully tight, and his shirt white. With his blond curls falling around his shoulders, he looks far more beautiful than any man has a right to look. “You don’t haveanyidea? Don’t you feel that deep yearning to be with us? The mate bond?”
Don’t they understand? I just need more time.
“I haven’t laid in a bed in almost a week. Just let me rest.” It’s weak. It sounds weak even to my own ears, but I just want to run away. From this discussion, and these men who make me feel such complicated things.
Prince Sulien moves until he’s in my space. The other men don’t pull back, but he leans in so that he’s whispering in my ear. “If you knew your family would be cared for, no matter what, would you marry us?”
If they were cared for no matter what? Then, I could escape all of this. I wouldn’t need to live a life of lies. I could be me again, or whoever me is without being a maid.
Prince Sulien has to know how tempting this is for me.
And I hate that he’s tempting me. That he’s offering me exactly what I want, and yet, my heart still doesn’t know what to do. “I need more time. Why is that so hard for the four of you to understand?”
“This isn’t how this is supposed to go,” Prince Forrest says angrily.
I glare. “What did you think was going to happen? That’s I’d be so happy you rescued me that I’d fall madly in love with you on the spot and agree to this? Maybe the royal faedoalways just get what they want no matter what, but that’s not how real life works.”
Prince Forrest’s glare deepens. “You're our mate, can you blame us for thinking you shouldlikeus? Even just a little?”
“You’re not asking me to like you, you’re asking me to marry you!”How do they not get this?
“What does your first instinct say?” Prince Zane presses. “If you had to give us an answer now, what would you say?”
Prince Cobar adds. “What would you say to your mates, asking you to marry them, right now? If youhadto give an answer?”
My gaze meets Prince Sulien. I silently beg him for help, but his expression gives nothing away. Doesn’t he see how much this is killing me? All four men have such sweet sides. All four men fought to save my life. I care about them, but this is too much.
“Answer them,” Prince Sulien says, like I’m in this alone.
