“Am I to assume you’re ready to have the conversation years overdue since you’ve returned?” His lips curl up slightly at the edges. “And you’re wearing my ring?”
I snort. “Because you’d let me get away with not having it?”
He presses his lips together and furrows his dark brows. “I think you know me better than that.”
“I used to think so, too.And the ring is mine, you just returned it to me.”
He sighs. Deflated by my response.“You still hold on to this preconceived slight?”
“Oh, there was nothing misconstrued about it. What you did—”
“Made sense,” he insists sternly. I shake my head. He’s always so sure he’s right. It’s a good trait to have in a leader, but a poor one in a significant other.
“For you.”
“For us,” he corrects coolly.
I shoot him a dirty look. “For yourself.” I’m not going to back down on this issue.
He rushes forward, and grabs my face, framing them in his large hands. “Every move I made has been with you in mind from the moment we first met. Do you think I’ve built this empire for myself? A king is nothing without a queen to rule beside him. You think I’ve done nothing but take? Yet, you are no longer a fragile human, susceptible to illness and attacks. You’re hardier.
Was I the only one who just witnessed your new powers? Had you stayed behind and sorted through things instead of fleeing, you would’ve learned about that and much more by now. Your anger is misplaced.”
“Don’t talk to me as if I’m a child.” I jerk back, and he releases me.
“Now that you’ve decided to act like an adult, I shan’t.”
“Don’t you give me this ‘I’ll take the high road’ bullshit. I know the savagery that lies underneath that cool exterior.”
“And yet, you’ve never experienced it for yourself. Because I always aim to protect you and place you first. Which is why you should know the reason I bound us was for your safety.” He places his hands behind his back and let the icy facade he wears like a mask settle into place.
“Really? And not to keep me with you? You’ve expressed your views on human fragility.”
“It took your consent, Lou,” he whispers, so low I almost miss it.
“What?” I narrow my gaze as my brain stops processing momentarily.
“I could never have completed the bonding ritual without you on board one-hundred percent. It’s not something that one can force on another. That what be a compulsion, and we both know a witch as powerful as yourself can’t be put under that particular enchantment so easily, or this deep. You wanted it. A prolonged life with me, access to my innermost thoughts, and the ability to find me anywhere on the planet.”
His words have silenced me. “Haven’t you wondered why I didn’t pursue you? I understood it was a lot to take in, especially at your age. You were too damn young for me. I knew it, but had I waited, and someone else took you …” His eyes flash a honeyed amber. “The streets would’ve run red with the blood of those who tried to keep you from me. I chose the lesser of evils.” He stepped forward. “I’ve had centuries upon centuries to get used to the thought of a bond-mate. To wonder if it would happen, if I was worthy, and wait.” He shakes his head. I can feel the pain flowing from him. “And when I find her, and it happens, she runs from me.”
“You gained power from it.”
His jaw clenches. “I was on the cusp of ascending to the next level. I am old. Not quite ancient, but no youngling either. The bond acted as a catalyst only.”
I turn from him, unable to accept the facts.
“You were twenty-two, amore. Things look different now, no?” He spins me around, and places a finger under my chin, forcing me to meet his steady gaze. The passion visible in his dark orbs, paralyzes me. I stare, unable to speak.
“You must understand, a bond is more than a choice, it’s a compulsion. A version of a soulmate. The bond has to replace what can’t form naturally when my life force is altered.”
“What?”
“Let me show you.” He folds his hands behind his back and waits patiently as I digest everything he’s said.
“Fine.” He opens the bond and guides me through the labyrinth of his mind to the section of knowledge he wants me to explore. His mind is orderly—like a library with infinite rows of books on shelves waiting to be read. I dive into the memories, and I’m pierced through the heart by the reality. The hunger, longing, and want. The desire to be next to this one being who was created solely for you. I pull free, and stumble back, stunned, and drowning under the onslaught.
“You should’ve told me,” I growl. I had no idea what I was entering into.