Chapter 19
Yes, he does. Because I’m his sister. I am their sister, in every way that matters to them, even if I and Tristan don’t share blood.
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Even if my wolf still whimpers every time I hear him say it, still yearns for a bond that will never exist.
But that makes this so much worse, doesn’t it? They trusted me to stay safe, to take care of myself, and I failed so spectacularly. I let my own mate destroy me, and then I compounded that failure by rejecting the mate bond entirely.
“If you don’t tell him, then I won’t either,” I say desperately. “We can just… we can pretend this never happened. I’ll get better on my own, I promise. I just need time p>
“No.” His voice is firm, final. “I won’t tell him until you’re ready, but you will tell him when he gets back from his trip. If you don’t, then I will. He deserves to know, Athena. He cares about you more than you realize, and he’s going to want to help you through this p>
I want to argue, want to fight him on this, but I can see in his face that his mind is made up. And maybe, buried deep beneath all the shame and fear, there’s a tiny part of me that wants Orion to know. That wants to stop carrying this burden alone.
“Okay,” I whisper, my voice so quiet I’m not sure he heard me. “When he gets back p>
Tristan nods, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. “Now talk to me. Tell me what happened. Tell me about Daxon p>
Just hearing the name makes my skin crawl, makes my stomach churn with a mixture of fear and nausea. But Tristan is waiting, patient and steady, and I know I owe him the truth.
After everything he’s done for me, after the way he held me through my breakdown last night, he deserves to understand what he’s dealing with.
I take a shaky breath and close my eyes, trying to find the strength to go back to the beginning. To that moment when I discovered who I wanted my mate to be, who I chose and everything started falling apart.
“I met him at a supermarket,” I start, my voice barely above a whisper. “It was about three years ago. I was shopping for groceries after work, and I couldn’t reach something on the top shelf. He helped me get it down p>
The memory feels surreal now, tainted by everything that came after.
But at the time, it had seemed so sweet, so romantic. A handsome stranger helping a damsel in distress, like something out of a fairy tale.
“He was… charming. Funny. He made me laugh, which I hadn’t done much of since leaving here. When he asked for my number, I almost said no. I wasn’t really ready to date anyone. I was still trying to figure out who I was on my own, you know p>
Tristan nods, encouraging me to continue without interrupting. His face is carefully neutral, but I can see his hands clenched into fists where they rest on his knees.
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Chapter 19
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‘But he was persistent. In a good way, I thought. He would send me flowers at work, little notes telling me I was beautiful. He’d show up
at my favorite coffee shop with my usual order already prepared. It felt romantic, like he was really paying attention to me, really seeing
me p>
I have to stop for a moment, the irony of those words hitting me like a slap. He had been paying attention, all right. He’d been cataloging
my routines, learning my weaknesses, figuring out exactly how to trap me.
“He chased me for months,” I continue, my voice getting steadier as I fall into the rhythm of the story. “I kept saying no to dates, but he never gave up. He’d find excuses to bump into me places, the grocery store, the gym, even at the library. It should have been a red flag,
but I thought it was fate p>
“Finally, I said yes. One date, I told him. Just to see if there was really something there or if it was just my imagination p>
Maybe I’d been so desperate to feel wanted by someone, anyone, after Tristan’s rejection that I’d ignored every red flag. Maybe I’d been so broken from losing the love I thought I’d found in my brother’s best friend that I’d clung to the first person who showed me attention.
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Sara Lili
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.