Page 33 of Waltzing With Witches

It’s all for the best, anyhow.

“It was a great concert; they put on an amazing show.” I look up at Morgan. She’s barely breathing, her heart racing. “I noticed a beautiful redhead all night, drifting in and out of view. She was there with friends, if memory serves. But when the countdown to midnight began, she and I locked eyes, and I couldn’t look away. I crossed the dance floor as the clock began to chime, stopping in front of her, in front of you,” I clarify.

Morgan stands. “That was you? You kissed me at midnight and disappeared. You? Why don’t I recognize you? That was you; are you fucking kidding me?!” Her tone rises, blood rushing angry and hot through her veins.

I resist the urge to stand and pull her to me, to ask her to understand.

It’s better to push her away.

“I was glamoured when I kissed you at midnight, Morgan. And I returned immediately to Hearth HQ because I knew what you were to me the moment I tasted your lips. I returned home to call you to me, to claim you, to keep you. I returned home filled with joy.”

She crosses her arms, a furious look on her face. “But you didn’t call me!”

I shake my head. “No, no, I didn’t.”

Her eyes fill with unshed tears, her voice a mere whisper. “Why?”

Reliving the memory now fills me with shame and dread and self-loathing so overwhelming, I can barely continue speaking.

“When I returned home to tell my parents the joyous news, Evenia kindly reminded me that I left the haven system before the keeping test. She demanded I go through with it, said she couldn’t make an exception for me. I agreed, of course. I had no desire to be a Keeper. I was so fucking sure it would come back negative. But it wasn’t negative.”

The first tear trails down Morgan’s cheek, and part of me dies as I watch it slide to her chin and drop to the floor.

Better to put the final nail in my coffin now.

“I fought tooth and nail not to go through with keeper training. I told Evenia I’d leave the haven system permanently to find you, but she forced me through it anyhow.” My tone is bitter, angry. “And once it was done, I knew I was half the man I’d been before. They took so much from me, Morgan, and I couldn’t bear to inflict all of that on you.

“Fate wasn’t done with me, though. I came to Ever determined to make the best of a horrible situation. I knew you’d thrive in the human world. You were fierce and perfect, and some man would make you happy, I hoped. A man full of emotion and empathy who could put you first. I wanted that for you. But vampire mate bonds run deep. We have only to identify our mate for them to form and solidify for us.”

“What does that even mean?” she whispers, tears sliding faster down her face.

My voice cracks as I deliver the final blow. “It means, when your parents died, I felt your heartbreak. I felt your devastation and your pain. Something in me snapped, and I called you.”

“You called me and shunned me, you mean.” Her voice is bitter, venomous.

And there it is.

“Even heartbroken, you were full of life and joy and fire,” I admit. “And I realized my mistake. Once upon a time, I could have matched you toe-to-toe, Morgan, when I was whole. But now?” I gesture at myself. “You don’t deserve to be saddled with this life.”

Morgan swipes at the tears with the back of her hand. “And you decided this all on your own. Did it ever occur to you to fucking talk to me about any of it?”

I shake my head. “That’s why I invited you to breakfast that day. I wanted to share it with you. But then…”

“The castle called, right?” she snaps.

I stand. “There’s more, Morgan. More I should tell you.”

She throws both hands up and backs out from behind the desk, shaking her head. “I don’t think so, Keeper.” Her tone is cool, collected, a wild dichotomy to the throbbing intensity of her heartbeat. “I don’t need to hear anything else. You’ve said enough.”

I reach for her, but she backs against the wall with eyes wide and wild.

My Keeper training takes over, that need for logic and quick action making me clear and direct. “Morgan, every fiber of who I am now is designed to make decisions with my people’s best interests at heart, no matter how I may feel personally.”

“That’s enough,” she hisses. “I don’t want to hear another word about it.” She eyes the door, looking like she’s about to make a run for it.

The emotional side of my brain begs me to tell her not to go. But I say nothing. It would be better for her to run far, far away from me.

She stands tall, glaring daggers at me. “I’ve been here over a month! You could have told me all of this up front. You could have explained!”

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