Donovan laughed, harsh and bitter, and the sound cut through me.
“Can you hear yourself right now, Asher? I wasn’t even surprised when Finn ran off with Gabriel, but this…I never expected this from you,” Donovan said.
Silence stretched between us.
I knew no amount of explanation would convince him that Gael was different, that what I felt was real.
Donovan would never believe me. Not in a million years.
“Asher,” he said, his voice sharp, “wake up. Stop living in this perverse fantasy you’ve conjured up. You’ve been working too hard, stressed yourself out over Finn. Just…leave that leech and come home. Leave Declan to me. I’ll convince him you’ve come back to us.”
“And the other hunters with him?” I asked, my voice steady despite the storm brewing inside me.
“We’ll come up with something believable. That vampire hypnotized you, brainwashed you into thinking you were in love with him,” Donovan said, sounding more confident now.
“What a flimsy excuse,” I said bitterly.
“Damn it, Asher.” His tone cracked, anger bleeding into frustration. “You don’t even sound like you’re interested in coming back to the Guild. To me. The only family you have left.”
I froze, his words hitting like a punch to the gut. He already considered Finn lost. The thought made my chest ache.
“I don’t know what I really want,” I admitted, my voice quieter now. “But Donovan, I know what’s between Gael and me. It’s real.”
Donovan’s sharp intake of breath was audible through the phone.
“Asher…why did you even call me?” he asked, his voice quieter, softer.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Maybe I just wanted to hear my brother’s voice.”
“Asher,” he said, and this time, there was a crack in his voice, something raw and unguarded. “Cut ties with that leech. Come back home. I’m not begging you again.”
My hand tightened around the phone. “I need more time,” I said, my voice trembling. Before he could respond, I ended the call.
The silence that followed was deafening. I stared at the phone in my hand, feeling hollow. A little lost.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, my hands shaking as I ran them through my hair.
I wanted to believe I could fix this, that I could make things right with Donovan without sacrificing what I’d found with Gael.
But the truth was, I didn’t know how.
My chest ached, my emotions warring inside me. Guilt, anger, sadness. They all clashed, leaving me drained.
I thought about Donovan’s voice, the way it had cracked when he begged me to come home.
The way it had broken when he talked about Finn.
I thought about Gael, his quiet strength, the way he made me feel alive in a way I hadn’t felt in years.
The way he’d kissed me, like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to this world.
I pressed my hands to my face, breathing deeply.
I wasn’t ready to let go of either of them, but the reality was sinking in. I couldn’t keep holding onto both.
And no matter which choice I made, someone was going to get hurt.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
