The word protector‘ tastes like acid in my mouth now.
“So I quit. And for a while, things seemed better. He was so happy, so affectionate. He’d tell me how proud he was that I trusted him enough to let him take care of me. But then…” I have to stop, the words getting caught in my throat,
Tristan reaches across the bed and takes my hand in both of his. His touch is warm and steady, anchoring me to the present, to safety,
“Take your time, he says softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I squeeze his hand gratefully and force myself to continue.
“Then the comments started. Little digs about my appearance, my intelligence, my worth. But then the comments started. He’d say things like, ‘You should be grateful the Moon Goddess gave you to someone like me. Most men wouldn’t put up with your neediness.‘ Or ‘You’re lucky I love you despite your flaws.”
Each remembered insult feels like a fresh wound opening up. The way Daxon had delivered them with such casual cruelty, like he was doing me a favor by pointing out my shortcomings.
“He’d compare me to other women, tell me how much prettier they were, how much more interesting they were. And somehow, he made me believe it was all true. The mate bond was supposed to make him love me unconditionally, but instead it just made him feel like he
owned me.”
My voice breaks completely, and I’m sobbing now. Tristan immediately moves closer, pulling me into his arms, holding me against his
chest as I fall apart.
And there it is again, that dangerous flutter in my chest, the way my wolf perks up at his touch, the way my broken heart still tries to
heal itself in his presence.
I hate that I still feel this way about him, hate that five years and another man’s cruelty haven’t been enough to kill whatever lives inside
me that calls to him.
But I force myself to remember his words from that night: “You’re just a sister to me, Athena. This was a mistake.”
I have to see him as nothing more than Orion’s best friend, nothing more than the brother figure he’s always been to me.
I can’t let myself hope for more, can’t let myself want things he’ll never be able to give me. I’ve been hurt enough. My heart has been shattered enough times.
From now on, he’s just family. Just the man who’s helping me heal, who’s offering me the safety of pack bonds and sibling love. That has to be enough, because it’s all he has to offer.
“None of that was true,” he says fiercely, his voice rough with emotion. “Not a single word of it, Ath. You’re beautiful and intelligent and
1/2
18:27 Fri, Jan 2
Chapter 21
But I can barely hear him through the tour of memory and pain: Fm back in that apartment, hack in that nightmare relationstap whers lace became a weapon used against me.
I loved him too much to let go, I whisper against Tristan’s chest. Even when he started getting physical, even when the verbal stene became constant, I couldn’t leave. He’d convinced me that no one else would ever want me, that I was too broken, too difficult to fors. And the mate bond made it impossible. Every Instinct I had screamed at me to stay, to submit, to try harder to please him/
Tristan’s whole body goes rigid against mine, and I can practically feel the rage radiating off him. But he doesn’t interrupt, doesn’t demand details I’m not ready to give. He just holds me tighter and lets me talk.
“The first time he hit me, he said it was because I was fighting the bond, fighting what the Moon Goddess intended. He said I was being a bad mate, that I needed to learn to submit properly. He made me feel like it was my fault for pushing him too far, for making him lose
control.”
The words are pouring out of me now, years of suppressed truth spilling over.
Comments
13
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
