\[Rosco’s POV\]
Anger and happiness mix with one another as I continue to stare straight ahead. How the fuck could such a precious moment be ruined like this? Was the goddess playing some sort of fucking joke with me? No. That wasn’t what was going on; this was just more confirmation that Elise was, in fact, Denali’s twin, and as such, she would also be mated to me, but fuck, this was frustrating.
Seeming to catch onto my mood and clearly still dazed from the moment that we just shared, Denali moves forward, but before she can take a few steps, Elise is moving, rushing toward me, and when she reaches, she stops and lifts her large eyes toward me.
Once a fucking gain, I feel the pull of the bond, and it pisses me off, as does the look of fucking hope that is beginning to form in Elise’s eyes.
“Rosco,” she breathes, clearly trying to look innocent and enticing. “I was just…”
“Don’t,” I snarl, shoving her away from me. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
“What?” She gasps, her eyes widening as hurt forms on her features. “What do you mean? I don’t…”
“You do,” I counter. “And don’t you fucking dare to have any hopes.”
Letting my anger over the situation get the best of me, I storm forward, only stopping long enough to grab Denali and throw her over my shoulder. Once she is in place, I make my way out of Marty’s lounge and then head out of his home.
“Rosco,” Denali gasps when I begin to head down the street with no particular location in mind. “What are you doing?”
“Making as much fucking distance as I can between myself and that snake,” I hiss through gritted teeth. “And finding somewhere to be alone with you.”
Even if I was beyond enraged over the fact I didn’t have just one mate, I was still in awe over knowing that the very person I chose for myself was also the one that the goddess chose for me, and I wanted her all to myself right here and now.
I don’t know how long I walk before finally finding a park, which I head into, and once I reach a bench, I sit Denali down on it and then take her in. She’s so damn beautiful and so damn innocent, and she’s so fucking perfect, it kills me. How someone so pure could be the mate of a sinner like me was beyond me, but I was so damn thankful.
“Hey,” Denali murmurs, reaching out and grabbing my hands. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t want to talk,” I mutter, dropping to my knees in front of her. “I’d prefer to do something else.”
Leaning forward, I press my lips against hers, allowing myself to get lost in the newly awakened sensations that I feel when we touch. If it felt this fucking euphoric to simply kiss her, how would it feel to do other things?
Letting these thoughts get the better of me, I gently pull my hands free of Denali’s and then slide them along her sides until they move around her back. Once there, I start to grab at the hem of her shirt and begin to slowly pull it up until she grabs my arms and stops me.
“No chance,” she says, leaning back just enough to look at me. “There is clearly something wrong with you.”
Dammit. I couldn’t hide anything from this woman. She was a fucking esper and able to read my mind, but then again, I guess I wasn’t being too sly about how I was feeling either.
Sighing in frustration, I sit back on my heels and continue to stare into Denali’s eyes as I wonder just how she would react if I told her that not only was she my mate, but so was our enemy. Would she hate me for that, or would she understand? Of course, I had no fucking intention of having anything to do with Elise, but Denali was just starting to fully trust me, and I didn’t want to do anything to make us backtrack in our progress.
“Yeah, there is,” I admit, deciding to be honest. “A moment that was meant to be precious and euphoric for me was ruined because of an outsider.”
I guess this was my way of testing the bond between Denali and me. To tell her that her evil twin or sister or whatever the fuck Elise was meant for me just as much as she was would most certainly be a blow.
“Ruined?” She repeats, raising a brow. “I’m not quite following. Is it because we weren’t alone when we…” For a moment, she stops as she considers what to say since neither she nor I have openly acknowledged it. “We are…”
“Mates,” I offer, smirking. “You can say it, mi reina. Fate has brought us together for a reason, and that was so that we could find one another when the new moon rose.”
“Mates,” she whispers, as if unable to believe the word. “We are actually mates.”
The way she says it leaves me both pleased and sad. I was sure that bastard Alexander tried to use this same fucking word in order to trick her, and now it was tainted because of that.
“But I still don’t quite understand what you meant.”
“You already had an idea that Elise is related to you, correct?” I huff, deciding to pull off the fucking bandaid. "She's..." Fuck, it was harder to say this than I thought.
“Also your mate.”
Denali’s voice is gentle, but I don’t miss the hint of hurt that echoes in it as she speaks.
“What?” She continues, raising a brow. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice? The way you looked at her and she at you, it was pretty obvious.”
“I’m sorry,” I sigh, collapsing forward and burying my face in her chest. “I’m so fucking sorry to cause you even the slightest bit of unease.”
“Unease?” She repeats with a giggle. “Why in the world would I be uneasy?”
Why? Because she wasn’t my only mate or the only woman who was meant to be beside me. Because we now have this lingering unpleasant thing between us. There were plenty of reasons she should be uneasy, especially after all the betrayal she suffered.
“Look at me,” she says.
Slowly, I pull away again and then look up into Denali’s serene gaze and know that she truly isn’t bothered by this and actually expected it.
“What did you promise me in the past?” She asks, taking me by surprise.
Remaining silent, I begin to look back at everything we have said and done until I understand what it is that she is asking me.
“That even if we weren’t mates, I wouldn’t leave you,” I say slowly.
“That’s right,” she beams. “If we weren’t also mates, would you choose Elise over me?”
“Hell no!” I snarl, feeling rage rush through. “There’s no fucking way I would!”
“Then why should I be uneasy?” She sighs, reaching out and touching my cheek. “You’re here with me and not her, and when all is said and done, you will still be beside me. I trust you, Rosco, and I trust you to keep my heart and trust safe.”
In that instant, I feel like a weight is being lifted off of me, and before I can even stop myself, I’m reaching out and pulling Denali against me so that our mouths can collide and the bond between us can come alive, making the whole fucking world around us disappear, at least for now.