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I let out a breath. “Thank you for that. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to plan a wedding. I’d rather just do what Dawson and Winter did.”
“Me too.” He gently strokes my cheek and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “But we can’t. I’m alpha and you’re…” he pauses, furrowing his brows, “well, I guess you’re a queen now.”
My stomach tightens. “That’s so weird.”
He continues. “We kind of have to invite everybody to our wedding. I’m just glad that I don’t have to wait until summer to marry you.”
“I’m just still shocked you want to marry me.”
His eyes widen a fraction. “You’re my mate. Why wouldn’t I want to marry you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess sometimes I have a hard time believing that I actually have a mate. I spent my whole life trying to talk myself into being okay with an arranged marriage. I never imagined it was possible to be this happy.”
Devin presses a light kiss on my forehead. “I wish I could’ve known you when you were younger. I would have protected you.”
I rest my hand on his chest. “Fate worked out the way it was supposed to. My life was hard, but I had Nico. He looked out for me the best he could.”
Devin raises an eyebrow. “After knowing you, I realize you probably protected him a lot more than he protected you.”
I don’t deny it. “I’m the older sibling. It was my place to protect him.”
“I’m not sure he’d feel the same,” Devin says.
He’s definitely right about that.
Nico tried to protect me a lot growing up, but he could only do so much when it came to our father and I wouldn’t let him get in trouble for me.
“Of all his children, my father hated me the most,” I tell Devin. “I always thought it was because I was a girl, but it was more than that. Knowing how much he hates hybrids, he probably hated the fact that I’m a half breed.”
Devin laces our fingers together. “You’re magnificent, Tori. Everything about you is perfect.”
My heart swells. “When we first met, I wished I were a wolf shifter. Then when I found out I was a hybrid, I dreaded telling you. I don’t think I would have told you at all if Oliver hadn’t threatened to tell you. I was surprised by your reaction when I did admit the truth.”
“Because I already knew?” he asks.
I nod.
“I only knew because I paid an unhealthy amount of attention to you.” He grins. “I still do, but you don’t seem to mind now.”
“I didn’t mind then either.”
He gets a thoughtful look on his face. “No, I don’t suppose you did.”
I liked being noticed by him, even when he hated me. I don’t bring up the fact that he hated me because I don’t want him to feel bad for those early days. It wasn’t his fault that he was disappointed in having a dark fae as a mate. With who my father is, I can’t blame him, especially after knowing what he did to Devin’s parents.
My chest aches when I think about the fact that my father killed them. Everything makes so much more sense now.
“Why did Dawson want to invite me to this school after what my dad did to your parents?” I ask.
Devin sighs. “I asked him that exact thing when he first brought up the idea of inviting a dark fae to the school. He said he felt like it was fate that we needed to invite them. I was annoyed at the time, but I realize he was right.”
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to invite dark fae to attend,” I admit. “You had no idea that it would be your soulmate who came.”
“I don’t feel the same way about dark fae anymore,” Devin says. “You changed my mind. I realize that your father’s actions are his alone.”
“You didn’t like Kai when he came here,” I counter.
He frowns. “Because he flirted with you.”
