Page 123 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

I glance at him, and my heart aches.

“You were gone for a long time, Terrence,” I murmur. “I know you won’t approve because Robert is a shifter, but—”

“It’s not that.” Terrence’s voice is hoarse. “I don’t care what he is. It’s that he was able to do for you what I never could. I see the confidence in you. I’ve never seen you like this before. It’s a good change. I just wish I had been the person to bring it about.” There’s a pleading look in his eyes. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider, Charlotte? I don’t know what to do without you. Everything I’ve done in my life has been with your name in my heart, for a future with you. I know I seem pathetic, but I can give you a good life, a happy life. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

I press my lips together, recalling what Robert asked me in his kitchen about choosing Terrence and how Terrence had proposed to me. And I still haven’t been able to process what Robert told me about having given me his mating mark. I never thought I would be caught between two men who want me. Nobody’s ever wanted me, so this is nothing short of a strange phenomenon for me. I don’t like hurting either of them, but…

“I love Robert, Terrence.” I look at him, my fingers digging into Mano’s fur. “I don’t know how it all happened, but it did. Perhaps if you had come back before Robert and I crossed paths, things would be different. But now…” I don’t feel good saying this, but I don’t want to give my childhood friend any false hope. “It’s not that I don’t care about you, Terrence. You were kind to me at a time when I had no one, and I do value the friendship we shared. But Robert and I…It might not make sense to anybody, but we work. We’re happy. I’m happy. In a way I’ve never been.”

Terrence sighs, running his hands through his hair before leaning back against the bench. “I see.” His smile is tired and sad, and my heart aches. “Your happiness matters to me. But don’t just cut me out of your life and discard me like a used tissue, Charlotte. You might not need me, but I need you, and I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give, even if it’s just friendship. Don’t turn your back on me, Charlotte.”

“Your loyalty is to the clan, Terrence.” There is a crippling sadness within me as I utter the words. “My loyalty is to Robert. I can’t hold on to our friendship and be with Robert at the same time. You know what the Nelo Clan has been doing to his pack, with the drugs and the murders—”

“His pack will never accept you.” Terrence looks away, not even denying the doings of my old clan. “How can you be loyal to him when they would burn you at the stake, simply because of what you are? There is no future with Robert aside from you simply being one of his women—”

“They have accepted me,” I reply simply. “And I can’t be friends with a person who is actively trying to hurt the man I love and his people. I’m sorry, Terrence.”

Placing Mano on the ground, I get to my feet, and Terrence grabs my wrist. “What if it’s not like that? If I help you, will you at least offer me friendship?”

I look at his eyes, and despite the sincerity I see in them, I know that if I choose to let Terrence into my life, Robert will be unhappy. He won’t stop me; he’s never tried to restrict me from anything. But he will certainly not be pleased, and that will have a ripple effect on my relationship with him. I want to protect what I have with Robert at all costs.

But if Terrence is willing to help, we will have somebody inside the Nelo Clan who can help us bring it down. Because it is time to bring down the clan altogether. Whatever my father is planning, I can’t sit by and watch it happen, not when the man I love will inevitably become a target. Robert has been fighting to protect his pack. The least I can do is help.

“Alright.” I nod reluctantly. “If you help me stop whatever the clan is planning, and peace can be achieved between the wolf packs and the clans, there’ll be no reason for us not to be able to maintain our friendship.”

I feel awful for using Terrence’s feelings like this, but if harmony is achieved and this whole awful business is put to rest, then perhaps I can have a cordial relationship with Terrence. I don’t believe things will ever go back to the way they were between us, though, because the girl he loved was a victim, helpless and needing a knight in shining armor. The girl Robert fell in love with was no victim. She had clawed her way out of the pits of hell and had reinvented herself. She’d built a life for herself, and even if her heart was empty and she was physically weak, she was determined not to go down without a fight. Terrence never would have fallen for the current version of me. He would have wanted to play the hero, while I would have wanted a partner.

But I don’t think Terrence will ever understand that.

“What do you want to know?” Terrence doesn’t look upset in the least at the idea of betraying his clan. But then, he’s been away for more than a decade. Maybe he doesn’t have much loyalty toward the clan, either.

“I want to know what my father is really up to,” I say flatly. “Simply creating a drug for the shifters doesn’t make any sense to me. There’s no purpose behind it. A majority of the packs have banned the drug, so why keep making it? And…” I hesitate at this part, “I want to know about Jean Sanguinite.”

The name elicits an odd reaction from Terrence. “Why’re you asking about Jean Sanguinite?”

It would be easy to tell him the reason why I’ve suddenly uttered this name, but I remember the promise I made to Robert. This involves both of us, and I don’t think I should be telling anyone about what we discovered. Angie is someone I trust implicitly, which is why I needed to discuss it with her—that and because of the tarot cards she showed me.

“I’ve always been curious about her.” I shrug. “She’s such a prominent figure in the vampire world, but there’s not much known about her.”

“It’s odd that you mention Jean,” Terrence murmurs. “And even odder that you’re mentioning her to me.”

“Why?” His expression has me blinking.

“You are her descendent.” Terrence tucks his hands in his pockets. “You must know that because of her surname. My family can also trace its roots back to the time period when she was alive. Jean’s right-hand man, Silvius, is my ancestor. My family has maintained records of Jean’s life through the years. I can give you access to them if you’re interested in her.”

I gape at him. “If you have so much information about her, why wasn’t it ever available in the clan’s archives?”

Terrence shakes his head. “I don’t know. I was very young when my father told me about Jean and our family history. There was also a prophecy spoken by a Seer who had been close to Jean.”

“A prophecy?” My ears are tingling. “What did it say?”

Terrence meets my gaze. “Again, I don’t know. Sorry. It’s written down somewhere, but I’ve never seen it.”

I really want to know the contents of this prophecy, mostly because I want to know whether it has something to do with why Robert and I look so much like those two war heroes.

“Is there,” I begin carefully, “any mention of her mate or children?”

“No.” Terrence shakes his head. “Nothing. Why are you asking all these questions, Charlotte? This doesn’t sound like simple curiosity.”

---