Page 11 of Their Fated Magic

Maybe they just need to be reminded of that.

A stray thought whispers in the back of my mind that I haven’t told them about my mother’s message yet, but I push the thought aside. I’m not lying to them. I will tell them. I just need more time.

We have a lot to deal with right now. It’s no time to add fuel to the fire.

I plant my hands on my hips, determined to make them see that this hatred isn’t helping any of us. “You have to think beyond just this mission. If we’re all joined together through marriage, then we’ll need to learn to get along one way or another.”

Drogo snaps, “It’s not like we were sure how this marriage would go… given the fucking curse is from your own people!”

Well, that hurts. I understand if I don’t find the cure these wolves will be rid of me, but has Drogo even stopped to think about what will happen if I do find the cure? He’s going to have spent all his time with his wife being cruel to her.

“Drogo, I’m going to find the cure, and then we’ll have a real marriage. Have you considered that?” There’s hurt in my voice that I don’t bother trying to hide.

“No.” His chest is rising and falling rapidly. His expression tells me he barely has control over his emotions. “That’s never going to happen.”

Garrick has a strange expression on his face as he looks at each of the wolves one at a time. “Wait. Is that why you haven’t consummated the marriage? You plan to annul it and throw Tara away once you don’t need her anymore?”

My stomach drops, and the world shifts under my feet. No, no, they wouldn’t have planned something like that. They planned to make our marriage real as long as I solved the curse. The only reason we haven’t been together is because… because…

“Is that true?” I ask, my heartbeat filling my ears.

When I glance at each of the wolves, my stomach turns and my eyes burn. Garrick was right. That’s exactly what they were planning. From the very beginning. That’s why they’ve kept me at arm’s length. No matter what I did, we wouldn’t have stayed married.

My feet are moving before I realize it, and I’m running, needing to be as far away from everyone as possible.

“Tara, wait!” Rinan calls out, and I glance back at him, but all I feel is pain. “We may have had a plan before, but things changed.”

Garrick starts after me, looking upset. “Tara. I was never a part of their plan.”

Looking away from them, I just keep going, ignoring them as they argue over who can go after me. I weave through the trees, the foliage slapping me as I run, stumbling several times, but managing to keep myself upright. Air burns in my lungs. My legs beg for release, and I slow, spotting a nearby log.

My body hurts even more, and my breath comes in quick pants. But the pain in my body is nothing compared to the pain in my heart. Nothing I did was ever going to win them over. They didn’t want me, no matter what. I sit down, blinking away the tears that threaten to spill down my cheeks.

I don’t want to cry. Not over them. Not over men who don’t give a damn about me.

“Tara sad.”

The soft voice makes my head jerk up and I see Wisp floating near me, her bright golden glow even brighter in the evening light. My heart leaps at the sight of someone familiar and kind. An ally in a world where I’m feeling more alone by the day.

“I’m so sad,” I admit, wrapping my arms around my knees as I feel a tear track down my cheek. “Everyone just wants something out of me. They want to use me as a tool to help their people and then be rid of me. My mother wants to use me to restart this horrible war with the shifters. They don’t care about me at all.” I sniff, looking through a veil of tears. “Maybe I don’t deserve better, but I want more than that.”

“Deserve better,” she says, emphasizing each word.

“Yes, I want someone to care about me, to think the world of me, to love me.” I sigh, hating my foolish heart.

How can I want something I’ve never known? The only ones who ever loved me were my father, Baldemar, and Wisp. Why should I expect anything more? Even my own mother doesn’t love me. How can anyone else bring themselves to love me?

“To love me.” Wisp dims her light, showing her sadness.

I look at Wisp and nod, more tears flowing down my cheeks. “Exactly. But it’s becoming clear for the first time that there’s no happy ending with these shifters. No chance at love, romance, and a family. Once my husbands are done with me, I’ll be on my own. I need to figure out where I’m going after this.” My brain starts working. “My mom offered to rescue me, but I can’t go back there. Not after being here and seeing what life can be like when you aren’t hated by everyone around you. Not after getting to know the people here. The princes might be idiots, but I could never hurt the shifter people.”

“Not here.”

Her words resonate within me. “You’re right, I won’t find the life I want here either.”

So, what do I do? I get an image of me escaping with my horse in the night, but where would I go? I’d gone over this already in my mind. Not the vampire lands or monster lands, and I don’t know if I could survive a trip to the fae lands.

And if I go… what will happen to the shifters? They’ll just, what, sicken and die until my mother can sweep in and kill what’s left of them? No, I can’t be okay with that.

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