Page 6 of Claiming the Dhampir

“I was one of those scientists.”

Lorna froze, and I wished she would project her thoughts to me. Would she walk away from him? Would she give him time to explain? Most importantly, would she forgive him?

Kenrid didn’t move either. Though I suspected his was from fear. His eyes searched her face, and he still gripped her hands in his.

What felt like a full minute later, Lorna pulled her hands free and took a step back. Kenrid’s entire body deflated. If I’d thought he looked pitiful earlier, now was nothing short of despair.

“What exactly did you do?” she asked.

“My main task was caring for the children born at the facility,” Kenrid answered. “Every day I despise my decisions to overlook what was happening. I hate myself for allowing the research to continue as long as I did. Now I have to live with the guilt of destroying so many lives.”

Another full minute of silence stretched between us. I tried not to hold my breath. Kenrid’s remorse was painful to watch, almost as much as his fear.

“I need some time to sort through all this,” Lorna said, waving her hand in the air like I’d seen her do so many times before. “I’m not rejecting you, Kenrid. I just need some time.”

Nodding, he shoved his hands in his pockets. He turned around and headed back into the forest, looking over his shoulder once before disappearing between the trees.

I almost felt bad for forcing the confrontation, and I would have if Lorna had reacted differently. But she didn’t immediately reject Kenrid or call him a monster. She didn’t tell him to get out of her life. As long as she was okay, I would have no regrets.

“We all make bad decisions,” I said. “It’s how we correct those mistakes that defines who we are.”

“Yeah.”

Lorna didn’t look away from the place where Kenrid disappeared. Once again, I wished she’d project her thoughts to me. But she didn’t, and I would not ask.

“Let me take you home.” I offered my hand, and after a moment of hesitation, she took it.

Chapter 3

Lorna

My mind reeled from everything I’d just learned from Damon and Kenrid. I was pissed off at both of them, and Damon was a complete asshole for forcing Kenrid to reveal that secret the way he did.

It was pretty shitty, Mir said. Especially for someone who’s supposed to be his friend. Damon totally threw Kenrid under the bus.

Yep!

That’s exactly what had me fuming at my demon. It was shitty.

At the same time, Damon was probably right. Kenrid never would’ve told me. Not that I could blame him. If I were in Kenrid’s shoes, I’d never tell the person I loved that I was responsible for… what? Their creation? I couldn’t be mad about that, could I?

I’d loved my life until a few weeks ago. If Kenrid hadn’t been there, I might not be who I was today.

No. I was mad because Kenrid knew about my magic and where it came from, yet he didn’t tell me. There’s a huge difference between fae magic and demon magic. What else did I have? Shifter magic? If so, what kind of shifter? Was that the reason the fates put four different guys in my path?

I didn’t really want to think about Kenrid’s part in the experiments. He said he took care of the kids. My mind wanted to conjure images of small children in dungeon cells or tiny sterile rooms with no toys or other children to play with, but I knew nothing about the facility or Kenrid’s role.

Maybe I didn’t want to know.

I can’t see Kenrid hurting a kid, Mir said. His heart is too kind. You saw the look on his face before he walked back into the woods. He’s been carrying around that guilt for way too long. It’s eating him up.

She was right. I could feel Kenrid’s pain as he walked away from me. I didn’t think it was just from my reaction, either. With the way his voice had trembled and his hands clenched into fists while he told his tale, it was obvious he really did hate what happened.

In the end, I just couldn’t picture him as the evil scientist.

Damon’s final words ran a loop in my head. We all make bad decisions. It’s how we correct those mistakes that defines who we are.

The Kenrid I knew and loved would not willingly hurt innocent people. Maybe one day I’d ask him to tell me the rest of the story, but not today. No matter what I discovered, he was still my soulmate.

---