Page 140 of Second Chance Mates

“I’ll watch over her for a little while,” she says. “Take an hour. She’ll be here. I’ll make sure she’s okay. If anything happens, I’ll mindlink you, okay? Please. You need to shower and eat.”

I stare at my sister, and she stares right back. “Lucy–”

“Jaxon,” she huffs. “Please. Trust me. You need some time to yourself.”

My eyes shoot back to Ava. The machine reminds me she’s stable, but the sound of the beeping is close to sending me over the edge. I hate to admit she’s right, but leaving her alone…

No. I can’t.

“Jaxon. Go.”

I’m stuck to the ground, and I’m certain I don’t smell good either. My hand drags down my face in defeat. “Alright,” I rasp and stroke my finger down the curve of Ava’s cheek. “I’ll be back. If anything and I mean anything happens, you tell me straight away. Alright?”

“You have my word.” She smiles softly and takes a seat beside my beautiful mate. I study their hands as she entwines them and gives her palm a squeeze. “She’s safe with me, Jaxon. Do you not trust me?”

My chest aches. “I do, but I want to be here when she wakes up.”

“I understand.” She nods. “Go. The quicker you leave, the quicker you can come back.”

I leave before I change my mind.

The second I’m out of the room, my wolf is begging me to go back. But I keep my head forward, despite how difficult this is. It’s a constant mental battle with my own subconscious.

Once I’m upstairs, I shower and get dressed into fresh clothes. Guilt races through me like a river, and when I think about eating, my stomach flips. I head down to the kitchen and make myself a coffee—caffeine being my best friend right now.

I stare out of the window and into the back garden. The trees sway in the wind as the sun ducks behind a sky of dark clouds. I gulp down my coffee, allowing the liquid to burn my throat.

Before I can think about my next decision logically, I walk out the back door and head into the trees. When I reach the rotting building surrounded by endless guards, I shove open the door and head down to the basement.

Adrenaline pumps through my bloodstream as I walk towards the barred cell. Julia sits against the back wall with her legs stretched out and her ankles chained. She hasn’t noticed me yet. I haven’t seen her since we captured her.

I didn’t trust myself not to kill her. But now, I want answers.

My knuckles bash on the metal bars, making her jump. Her shoulders raise, and she cups her arms to her chest. She’s definitely seen better days. I haven’t laid a finger on her, but keeping basic needs from her has definitely taken its toll.

“Ava dead yet?” Julia smirks in my direction and attempts to stand on her weak legs. “Is that why you’ve decided to finally grace me with your presence?”

I growl and slam my fist down against the metal once more. “She’s a fighter. You tried Julia, but you fucking failed.”

She scoffs and wipes at her dry lips. “Time will tell, Jaxon. Time will tell.”

“Why the fuck did you do this?”

Her head tilts backwards, and she laughs. “You were always so oblivious to everything. I didn’t know magic could work so well, but when you fell head over heels for me and the fake mate bond, I decided I could do anything and you’d still love me. A spell for idiots in love. But I never loved you.”

My eye twitches at her words. “You faked our mate bond.”

“We were never mates, Jaxie.” She flashes me a feral grin with an annoying voice that makes me want to smash her face into the wall. “All I wanted was to fuck with you, and it worked better than I imagined. I had you wrapped around my little finger until the very last moment. Did you cry for me, Jaxon? Did you weep and sob and feel like you couldn’t go on?”

I tighten my jaw and remind myself not to bite. Goddess, fuck. I had no idea a spell could cause so much deception for this long. I didn’t once question how she treated me or what I felt. She tricked me. She made me believe things that weren’t even real.

My fingers itch to brush over my head, but I refuse to let her know she’s still fucking with my brain.

“Faking my death and watching you suffer was the icing on top of the cake. We cut off the spell but left you with the excruciating pain of a deceased mate. It was all a lie. Every last bit of it,” she hisses through her teeth.

Ava. Ava has and always will be my only mate.

Fuck.

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