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“I love you, Sybil,” I whispered, not wanting to wake her. I needed to say the words, needed her to understand that she was all that mattered.
She stretched and rolled around so we were spooning. “I love you too,” she murmured, still half asleep.
Her words filled me with elation.She loved me!
But the feeling was quickly drowned out by the realization that I’d already failed at keeping my mate happy. She’d be hurt when I left. Maybe she’d even hate me, even though it was for her own good and safety.
I didn’t want her to hurt like Mom had when Dad left. Which meant I had to cut the cord quickly, before she had a chance to get any more attached.
It would be difficult, but it had to be done.
To keep her safe. From me.
Chapter 24
Sybil
Ireadthenoteagain, even though I’d read it a dozen times already. A part of me refused to believe it was true.
But it was. Zayn was gone. He’d been gone for days, and his apartment had been cleaned out. He wouldn’t pick up his phone. After the two wonderful weekends we’d spent together, he’d ghosted me.
I picked up my wine and chugged it straight from the bottle. It was the cheap stuff, because my usual fancy pinot gris reminded me too much of Zayn. We’d had some that moment we’d shared on the balcony before I’d found out about his curse, and had it with dinner when he made that scrumptious creamy pasta.
That fucking curse! And fucking Nigel! If he hadn’t shown up, none of this would have happened. If I could turn into a giant constrictor, I’d have crushed him myself.
After everything we’d been through, all the headway we made, Zayn still believed his serpent was dangerous. He still believed it would hurt me, which was ludicrous, I was sure of it.
He said in the note that he left because he loved me. Honestly, that made it hurt even more. He loved me enough to leave, but not enough to stay. Enough to give up, but not enough to keep trying.
I held the bottle up to the light and eyed it as I shook it from side to side. It was already half empty, and it was the last bottle. How had that happened?
Looking in the mirror, I concluded that I was way too much of a mess to go out to the liquor store for more. I flopped back down on the couch and ordered myself not to cry. I was a big witch, and big witches didn’t cry, right?
Wrong. I was already crying. Fuck.
Salt, ever the sensitive one, clambered over and climbed up my arm. He nuzzled my face softly.
“Hey, buddy,” I sniffed. “Do you miss him too?”
Pepper made his way over too. And there, with my two best friends, I let myself cry it out.
A woman’s voice in the hallway brought me out of my self-indulgent pity party. She was calling Zayn’s name, and she sounded just as desperate as I was. What the hell?
Eyes still rimmed with red, I opened the door. Standing in front of Zayn’s now-empty apartment was a distraught-looking older brunette with a lined face. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun even messier than mine. Even though they didn’t have similar coloring, I somehow knew they were related. Was this the mom he’d spoken of? The one who worried about him so much?
Zayn didn’t have a sister. He was an only child. It must be his mother. I cleared my throat, and the woman turned to me.
“I’m sorry,” she said, fidgeting with the keys in her hands. “I didn’t mean to bother everyone on the floor.”
“You’re Zayn’s mom?” I asked, deciding to be frank.
She blinked. “Yes. Do you know where he is? He won’t answer his phone.”
I swallowed hard, and my hands tightened on the note still in my hand. Aw, fuck. What did it matter now? We were two women upset about the same thing.
“I’m sorry. He’s gone. Because of me.”
“You?”
