My voice breaks as I continue, “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I’ve hurt you too many times, destroyed your trust over and over again. But please, I’m begging, you, just wake up anyway. Let me try to make it right, however I can. Let me spend the rest of my life proving that I can be the mate you deserve. The man you need.”
A small sound escapes her lips, barely more than a sigh of breath, but it’s the first response I’ve gotten all day. My heart leaps into my throat as her eyelids flutter. My wolf surgesforward, desperate to see those mismatched eyes we both love so much.
I can barely breathe.
“Aurora?” I lean forward, my fingers tightening around hers, searching for a single twitch, listening for any little bit of her voice. “Are you awake? Can you hear me?”
Her fingers shift in mine as her eyes slowly begin to open. Joy and terror war in my chest—joy that she’s finally waking, terror at how she’ll react to finding me here. After everything I’ve done to her, I have no right to expect anything from her but hatred.
But I can’t help hoping that maybe, just maybe, it’s not too late to fix what I’ve broken between us.
Chapter 28
Aurora
Everything hurts.
That’s my first coherent thought as consciousness returns. My entire body feels like I’ve been hit by a truck, then backed over again for good measure, maybe even dragged around a little bit like a rag doll. Even my hair hurts, if that’s possible. The bond in my chest throbs with a strange, hollow ache—not broken like I wanted, but… different somehow. Wrong in a way I can’t quite define, as if I’m feeling it through a great deal of interference.
When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is Kieran.
He’s slumped in a chair beside my bed, dark circles under his ice blue eyes suggesting he hasn’t slept in days. His big hand is wrapped around mine, warm and strong, and for a moment I let myself feel the comfort of his touch before memory crashes back.
Trusting him. Letting him in. His rejection. His cruelty.
The ritual. The witches. The soul-shattering pain.
Him finding me. Again. And the bond… is still there.
Jerking my hand away, I try to sit up—only for the room to spin violently. Black spots dance in my vision as nausea rolls through me. Kieran reaches for me, but I flinch away from his touch.
“Don’t.” My voice comes out raw and scratchy, as if I’ve swallowed broken glass. Which, given how much I screamed during the ritual, isn’t surprising. “You don’t get to act concerned now. Not after everything you’ve done.
Pain flashes across his face, and his hands drop to his sides, resignation in his ice blue eyes. “You’re right. I don’t deserve to be here with you… but I am. Aurora, please. Let me help you. You can barely sit up.”
“Like you helped me by taking my virginity then rejecting me again?” The words taste bitter on my tongue, but I can’t stop them. “I think I’ve had enough of your help to last several lifetimes. In fact, I think I’d be better off if you never ‘help’ me again.”
He flinches as if I’d struck him, but doesn’t back away, lifting his chin to take it. Something has changed in him—the Kieran I knew would’ve retreated behind cold walls by now, admitted defeat and run away. “I know I hurt you. I’ve been the biggest fool imaginable. Trust me when I say it’s all I’ve been thinking about this whole time. But the ritual nearly killed you—please, just let me make sure you’re okay.”
Before I can argue further, footsteps approach. Bonnie appears in the doorway, her dark eyes assessing us both. “Good, you’re awake. The ritual failed, in case you were wondering. The mate bond is still there, just… muted temporarily by the magic. It should return to normal in a few days, as far as we can tell.”
My heart sinks. Even this last desperate attempt to free myself has failed. I’ll never be rid of him—or this constant ache in my chest.
“We’ve arranged for you to recover at Pack Opal,” Bonnie continues, her tone brooking no argument. “They’re allies of Pack Jade, and their healers are excellent. Plus, they have experience with magical backlash. Not to mention, we can’t keepyou two around with all the snarling and growling—and we don’t have the spare bedrooms.”
“I can take care of myself,” I mutter, but even as I say it, another wave of dizziness hits me. The room tilts alarmingly, and I have to grip the edge of the bed to stay upright. “And I’m not snarling or growling… oh.”
Kieran. Of course. Hewouldthink he gets to be possessive and jealous.
“We should go to Pack Opal while you recover. You can barely sit up,” Kieran points out, then holds up his hands when I glare at him. “Which is entirely my fault. I know that, and I fully accept the consequences of my actions. But please, let me help you now. Let me try to make things right at least in a little way.”
Something in his voice makes me look at him—really look at him. The Kieran I knew would never admit fault so openly, would never show such raw vulnerability. His ice blue eyes meet mine steadily, full of regret and something that looks dangerously like love.
I can’t deal with this right now. My head is pounding, my limbs feel like lead, and I’m not sure which way is up anymore. Worse, the man who rejected me is acting like a kicked puppy dog and giving me dangerous hope again.
“Fine,” I say curtly. “But only because I don’t have much choice in my current state.”
Getting dressed is a humiliating ordeal. My fingers fumble with simple buttons, and my arms shake when I try to pull a sweater over my head. Kieran hovers nearby, clearly wanting to help but trying to respect my need to do it myself. When I stumble trying to put on my shoes, though, he kneels in front of me without a word.
