Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
“Don’t lie to me, Killian. I don’t need to hear it.”
“I’m not lying.”
“I think you should go,” Lucinda said, appearing in the garden.
“I’m not leaving.”
“Killian, right now, you are not welcome here, and I think it is best that you go.”
Leah rubbed at her hands, hating that she used her magic against him. She felt sick to her stomach. Even fighting Rose, she was never tempted to use dark magic. Not that she was tempted to use dark magic, but she had wanted to get Killian away from her.
Saying those precious words was cruel. She didn’t want to hear them. Actually, she did, she wanted to hear them so badly, but coming from him right now hurt big time.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Killian said.
“Killian, seriously?” Lucinda asked.
“I will keep coming back, Leah.” He held up the vial of potion. “And I will never take this. I don’t need you to look for a cure for me. I don’t want one.”
The potion was tossed toward her and Leah stared at it on the ground. She bent down, picked it up, and then handed his as well as hers to Lucinda.
“Leah?”
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“You cannot keep ignoring me or your parents.”
Leah had started to walk in the opposite direction. “I can’t? Tell me why not?”
“I know you’re angry.”
“Oh, you know I’m angry. I’m pretty sure you would have been more than happy if your coven was aware of the mission your mate was on, but sent you along anyway. Giving you false hope that during that mission, you would become mates, that you would fall in love.”
Leah hated how fickle she sounded, but that was why she had gone with Killian. She had hoped their closeness would show him there was nothing to fear in being mated to her. It hadn’t worked out that way.
Leah didn’t know what hurt more—the betrayal of her coven and parents, or the fact Killian had purposefully mated with her in order to end it.
“I am sorry,” Lucinda said.
“And you expect it to all be okay.”
“You’re hurting and this is a dangerous time for you.”
“Stop it. Just stop it. I’m not going to turn evil. I’ve proven that to you time and time again. Where others would succumb to darkness, I never have.”
“You just attacked Killian in a fit of anger.”
“I needed him to not touch me,” Leah said. She hated the blasted tears that kept falling from her eyes. “And I hate myself for it. I don’t want his touch, but I don’t want him touching anyone else. I love him and hearing him say that he loved me, that hurt. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have found some way to end this mating between us. He doesn’t have to worry. I will.”
This time, she walked away. Leah didn’t know where she was going, but she had to get away. She had to allow her tears and pain to be private.
She was pleased the weather wasn’t affected by her pain. Defeating Rose had at least come with the benefit of controlling her emotions and stopping them affecting the weather.
****
Killian stayed true to his promise.
Every single day, he went to Leah. His pack didn’t see him for a month, until they requested him to bless the new transitioners. So he traveled back to his pack, and then returned to Leah.
One month passed, as did a second. His wolf missed her. As did he.
She wouldn’t see him, but he sensed her. Her parents after the fifth month stopped looking at him like he was dirt. Lucinda started to talk to him again, and he knew she was worried. Leah didn’t join the coven and she was starting to worry. Leah didn’t do anything with the coven, nor with her parents. She felt betrayed by them. By the end of the sixth month, Lucinda waited outside the coven.
“Leah has gone,” Lucinda said.
“What do you mean she’s gone? She was here just yesterday.”
“I know, but she took off last night. She hasn’t packed any of her belongings. We don’t know where she is. I can’t even track her, so she’s figured out how to stop me from locating her.”
Killian handed her the flowers he’d purchased.
“What are you doing?” Lucinda asked.
“I’m going to find her.”
“Killian, this is hopeless. You need to return to your pack and get on with your life. Leah needs to find peace.”
“The only peace she’s going to find is with me. I have been a fucking idiot, not demanding she see me. Keeping my distance. Giving her time because that’s what I thought she needed, but it’s not. Leah is my mate and I’m going to get her.”
“Killian, wait…”
“No, I’m done waiting. I’m done fucking this up. She is mine as I am hers.” He had made a mistake and he would do everything in his power to fix it.