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“I’ll see you later.” I turned to walk away not knowing what else to say.
“Aeon, what’s happening to us?” he asked, sounding forlorn.
“Life,” I said, trying to explain in a diplomatic way. “Life is changing, and we have to adapt. If we don’t, then we will just be stuck in this awful reality for the rest of our lives.”
“Life doesn’t change, people do,” he growled.
“Same thing, we all can’t expect to be the same forever, not even you have stayed the same after two hundred years,” I said, leaving quickly before we started to argue again, but I had one more thing to say. When I turned to look at him, his expression was full of heartache. I didn’t have it in me to say what I was going to say, hoping that all he needed was time to work through his anger.
* * *
I wokeup on top of Lucien. My head rested against his chest, hearing the steady strumming of his heartbeat. It was soothing, almost lulling me to sleep, and mixed in with Katarina’s underlying scent, I was at peace.
“I’m starting to hate waking up outside.” Lucien's deep voice rumbled after it had started to sprinkle.
“After waking up in bed with Katarina, I’m sure this feels awful,” I said, jealous that he managed to wake up with her in his arms and see the sun, all in the same morning.
I missed the sun so much, it was like I was missing a limb.
“You make waking up outside better though. I’ve missed waking up with you,” he said, looking up at me.
He opened his mouth like he was going to say more, but he closed it quickly. My heart constricted that we still weren’t completely fine.
“I choose you, Lucien,” I said, swallowing roughly at what I was about to admit. “I know I’ve made our relationship more difficult, but I can’t imagine my life without you. I’ve kept my sanity because of you, you’ve given me hope and shown me a future I can’t say no to anymore.”
I wrapped a hand around his neck to kiss him, to show him that my words were true. I wanted forever with him, even if that meant it was just us.
“What about Katarina?” he asked, after he sucked on my bottom lip. “Does that mean you will mate with her?”
I pursed my lips at the thought of not mating with her. While I was deep inside of her the other night, I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into her, right next to Lucien's mark. But I still had my reservations. She could die.
“Lucien, what if—”
“Don’t say it, Aeon,” Lucien growled, sitting up as a rumble of thunder sounded above us, matching his intensity.
“Lu, if you haven’t—”
“Of course I have, if she dies, I don’t know what’s going to happen to me,” he snarled. “Keeping her safe is all I think about. Breaking the spell is all I think about. That shit husband of hers could come back at any moment to try and take her away from us.”
Us.
Lucien always thought about us as a whole. Zev and I would always be included in anything. He and his wolf were the most selfless beings in the world, he was so naive at times, but that’s what I loved most about him. Lucien was untarnished by the horrors of the world, his view was simplistic and almost childlike. It was beautiful how he saw the world, and I needed to remember that there was also good in our world like Lucien.
“He won’t take her from us,” I said, cupping his face with both of my hands. “We will keep her safe and with us for as long as possible.”
Lucien's face was fierce with protectiveness, but I saw the worry in his eyes.
“I can’t lose my mate, Aeon,” he whispered. “I know you think I’m stupid for mating with her, but she’s a piece of me that I didn’t know I was missing, she’s everything.”
His confession made my throat constrict with emotion. I was a fool to think I could resist this man and his big heart. All the time I pushed him away, I could have been basking in his love. Why did I think pushing him away was a good idea?
I’m an idiot, that’s why.
“You won’t lose her. We won’t lose her, and I’ll make sure I do everything in my power to keep her safe.”
“Is that what you saw in your vision the other night?” he asked, reminding me of the very vivid vision I saw.
It was the first one I had had since she had been here, and I was relieved. Usually I had a few, showing me things in the immediate future or things that made no sense even when I removed time from the equation. When a Belladonna was here with us, I could always see what they were going to do next, or if they were sneaking around.
