Chapter 46

Juliangelly POV:

*

“Look, I know we don’t get a lot of time together but it’s harder enough leaving the pack without being suspicious. You know I’m the pack healer,” I tell him while he continues to whine.

“I just don’t want you to go in the morning,” he whines. He pulls me into him. His arms wrapped around my body.

“I know you don’t want me to leave but I have to go back. They’ll start questioning me and I don’t know if I’ll be able to lie to them,” I say. “Please, understand that we have to be extra careful.”

He pulls away and rolls his eyes. “It’s always the same excuse. It’s fucking bullshit.”

“Do you know what your cousin would do to me if he found out we were dating? Or what about Kyros? We don’t come from the same place. It’s either we continue to be careful or we end what we have. I’m not willing to risk my people getting slaughtered by Prince Ezra,” I tell him, trying not to raise my voice.

“I know. I fucking know,” he says. He turns around. His hands balled up into fists at his side.

He has a really hard time controlling his temper. But around me he’s different. He takes care of me and my needs. He tries his hardest to be with me.

“What if we run away together. Ezra won’t miss me,” he says, sounding hopeful. He turns to look at me.

“I don’t want to hurt you. You know how much I care about you. But we both know we can’t do that. There is too much at stake for me right now. Elise needs my help. Once things with her get settled down then we can discuss this again. I will consider it for the future but as of right now that is not a possibility,” I say. I look away as the hope disappears from his eyes.

“You say you care about me but you put everyone else first,” he says, getting angry.

“What do you expect, Chris? I’m a fucking werewolf and you are a faerie. We shouldn’t even be together but we are. We feel the same towards each other. But we also have separate duties. I’m the healer of my pack. I can’t turn my back on them. And as much as I hate to admit it, you are from Ravenloft. Your cousin is the dark prince that everyone fears. He would kill us both if he found out about our relationship,” I say. I try not to get annoyed with him. We’ve had this conversation before but he won’t get it through that big head of his.

“Make a choice,” he says. My head immediately snaps up. He can’t be fucking serious right now. If he’s asking me to choose then I’m going to end up hurting us both.

Tears well up in my eyes. I look at him for longer than I should. I let out the breath I was holding. Then I turn around and walk out of the cabin we always meet at.

The wind starts going crazy around me. The sky turns dark. Clouds roll in out of nowhere. It becomes hard to see far in front of me. I know this is his doing. He doesn’t want me to make this choice.

Lightning strikes not very far from me. With my senses in overdrive I don’t realize that a tree was hit or that it was coming down. I’m suddenly tackled to the ground.

Lifting my head I see I landed on Chris. I can see the fear in his eyes. He pulls me in close. My forehead rests on top of his.

“Fuck,” he whispers. “I was so scared something was going to happen to you. That tree was coming down so fast. I can’t bear to watch you get hurt. I know I can be a prick more than half the time but you are mine. I don’t want to lose you.”

“Then stop the storm,” I say, trying to get out of his arms. He only holds me tighter.

“I’m not the one causing it,” he says. He finally lets me go. We both look at each other.

“Fuck, I need to get back. It’s probably Elise,” I say trying to get to my feet but I end up stumbling.

He helps me to my feet. He pulls me into his arms one last time. His lips find mine. His kiss is desperate.

“Please be careful. If she is really the cause of this then it means she is strong. But she also doesn’t know how to control it. Someone could end up getting hurt. And I don’t want that person to be you,” he says, sounding worried.

“I’ll be careful,” I say. I think I should transition. It’ll help me get back faster. I step away from Chris and begin preparing to transition.

“Forget about what I said. I don’t want you to choose. I want to be with you,” he says. *

“Secret,” Elise asks. She looks over at me. Her eyebrows are raising in question.

“Yes but you can’t tell the boys,” I told her. “They can’t find out. Or they might question things and I’m not ready for that.”

“Okay,” she says. She lifts up her hand and sticks out her pinky. “I promise not to tell any of them.”

I giggle at her childish way to make a promise but I follow her lead.

“I have a secret boyfriend,” I say in a rush. She lets out a gasp and her eyes widen.

“Oh my gosh,” she says excitedly. “Who is it?”

“I can’t tell you,” I say looking away. “But I’m in a bit of a pickle. He wants me to go with him. I don’t think that's a good choice at the moment. We come from different lives. We are so different. Bad things could happen if certain people find out about us. I want to be with him but what if it's the wrong option?”

“Do you love him,” Elise asks me. I stop in my tracks. Do I love Chris?

“I’m not sure. I know I care about him a lot. I want to be with him but there is a price to pay for that,” I huff out a breath of air. “I feel like being with him is harder than it should be. Should I just end it?”

“I can’t give you the answer to that. The choice needs to come from you and only you. If he is worth the chaos then why not do it. I get that you are in a tough position but sometimes we need to think with our hearts and not our head,” she says.

“Is that what is happening with Kyros,” I ask her.