Chapter 9 Unclaimed
❀ Maeve ❀
“I cannot.”
My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t get enough air.
The words tumbled from my lips, “You’re Crimson. No one would question you. You said I am yours, then protect me…”
“I am trying to,” he cut in. “Do not go to the ceremony.”
“But if you won’t claim me, then I have to go.”
“You might not even find a mate. It’s risky.” He insisted.
“Yea I bet you wish that. And risky, how?”
He did not respond.
His hand rose to comb back his curly hair in exasperation. I wanted to touch him, I wanted to press closer to him. But I didn’t move. Instead, I pulled the bedding harder around my body.
He was the first man to ever look at me with something more than lust. The first to not treat me like I was beneath him for not having powers.
I wouldn’t say I loved him, even if I did, because I just couldn’t understand why he acted confused regarding me.
He knew my situation, and I liked his possessiveness, but it was not enough.
“If you want to keep me to yourself, you have to be intentional.”
My eyes prickled with tears as I said the words because he was looking past me at the wall.
And with a stab in my heart, I realized I already had my answer.
He wouldn't take me back with him. And if I didn’t find a mate at the ceremony, I was done for. Cursed to survive the lowest rung of the ladder in Blackbridge.
I rose from the bed, letting the bedcover drop from my body, and walked to pick up my clothes.
Nikolai’s gaze burned into my back as I dressed wordlessly. I wrapped my shawl around my face.
When I made for the door, he finally moved.
One moment he was on the bed, and the next, he stood behind me, his palm over mine on the doorknob.
“I did not mean to upset you.” He said into my neck.
“Well. You did.” I turned to face him, tilting my head to meet his gaze. “Thank you for the lessons. I guess this is the last time we’ll ee each other.”
“I told you, you are…”
“Your eternal. Yes. I don’t think it counts if you cannot be open with me and tell me why you cannot take me back with you for my own safety. Goodbye, Nikolai.”
I turned to leave, but he grabbed me by the shoulder with one hand. With the other, he palmed my chest, looking deep into my eyes.
“I will always protect you.”
The hand on my chest grew uncomfortably hot, making me squirm.
A sharp prick stung my flesh. I jumped back.
“Ow! W-what…?”
As I rubbed my chest, I looked at him with question, then I noticed the tiny red object glistening in his palm.
He held up a perfectly shaped, glasslike pearl, red as blood, between his fingers.
He moved closer to me and put his lips to my ear.
“May I?” he asked, his voice soothing. Hypnotic.
I nodded in a daze.
He pressed the drop-sized gem between my breasts. It stung a bit, but when he let go, it stayed lodged in my flesh.
I brushed my finger over it. “What is this?”
“It’ll help us maintain a connection when we’re apart. And I will be there if you need me. All you need to do is channel your desire.”
He clasped my hand with his and pressed it to his chest.
My fingers twitched.
I didn’t want some magical gem connecting our emotions. I wanted to be with him. I wanted him to love me wholly and treat me like an eternal, whatever that was, should be treated.
I pawed at it angrily, but it was stuck.
My eyes blurred with tears. I furiously pulled open the door.
“Maeve…”
“Don’t follow me.”
I slammed the door so hard the sound echoed down the cave walls.
Absent-mindedly, I reached the riverbed. The current flowed south. South meant home, so I kept to the water’s edge, my steps uneven.
Behind me, the crunch of twigs and the faint drag of boots told me he’d followed, keeping his distance.
My shoulders stiffened, but I refused to look back.
Not good enough.
Not even for a vampire.
My only hope was finding a mate who wouldn’t hate me for being wolfless. I didn't think I could handle being rejected.
Reaching our street, I broke into a run toward the house, pressure squeezing my chest.
A few paces from our house, I noticed the door swinging wide open, the interior swallowed in darkness.
Mother never left the door ajar.
Ever.
My heart lurched. I quickened my steps.
A wolf howled somewhere close behind.
The sound rolled over me, raising the hairs on my neck.
I ran.