Page 147 of Oath of Revenge

She smirked as her boot dropped to the floor with a thump.

“I want to talk about something before you come over to play though,” he said softly, his eyes calculating.

She tugged off her other boot and grunted, “Talk away.” Now that she faced him, she couldn’t quite bring herself to say those three simple words. Her parents had bandied them about over and over. Why was it so hard?

He swallowed hard and winced as he unwrapped another layer. “There may be a lot we don’t know about each other yet, but there’s only one thing I need to know about you,” he said before taking a deep breath.

Her spine tingled. This sounded serious. She frowned as her other boot hit the floor. She sat up and met his gaze. His eyes glowed golden in the soft light through the window.

“Do you love me? Can you love me, a monster, a beast, a Growler?”

Scarlet sat back on the settee, drumming her fingers on her leg. So it was going to be that kind of talk then. Well, it was a good thing she’d already made up her mind. She pulled her dagger from her sheath and picked at her nails. “Well, there’s a problem with your logic there, wolfie. You see, you’re not a monster or a beast.”

She looked at him from beneath her lashes. He blinked. “I’m not?”

She shook her head and looked into his eyes. Tossing the blade and catching it without looking, she said, “No, you’re not. You’re my mate, Wulfric, and there’s no getting out of that or escaping it. I’m not about to walk away from you.”

“What are you saying?” he demanded, setting the last of the gauze aside, his jaw clenching.

“I’m saying, I’m in it until the end. You almost died, Wulfric. Bella’s a spirit, Leopol’s a ghost. We’re all going to die someday, and it got me thinking.“ She paused, rubbing at the sore spot where her antlers grew from her head. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as it did before she’d met him.

She sighed and sat forward on the settee, settling her elbows on her knees and looking into his eyes across the room. She just had to spit it out. “If at the end of my hopefully long life I could’ve spent even one more day with you, would I do it? Hells yes, I would. I’d be a fool not to spend every day possible with you. And Grandma didn’t raise a fool, regardless what she says otherwise.”

Wulfric chuckled, and she stood, stepping toward him. He held his hand out, palm facing her. “Wait, does this mean you’re still going to obsess over ending the curse?”

She frowned, reaching for the ties on her vest. She unlaced them as she asked, “What do you mean?”

He raked a hand down his haggard face, still too pale from healing. “We may be fated mates, but I fell in love with you, Scarlet. Not because it was destiny or the gods manipulating us, but because you’re fucking amazing. Antlers, rabbit shifting, and all.”

Her heart raced, and her nose twitched. “You love me?” She’d hoped, had been fairly sure, but to hear it said aloud. Her throat closed, and she swallowed hard.

His brows wrinkled, and he put the glasses on the side table, rubbing his eyes with a sigh. “Of course I fucking love you. Who wouldn’t?”

She rolled her eyes. “Just about everyone else, dipshit. I’m a freak of nature.”

He growled and pointed. “There. That right there is the problem. Will there ever be a time you can love yourself the way I love you?” He laid back against the bed, closing his eyes.

She frowned and tossed the blade again.

He sighed. “What happens if Bella can’t reverse the curse? Yes, she’ll have more resources here, more books to research and find a solution. But if you stay like this, will you be happy? Or will you always be chasing a way to change back into what you were before?”

She caught the blade and held it. Her breathing stopped too, her stomach twisting. Could she live with herself like this? Eirwyn had asked her that same question, but so much had changed since then.

It wasn’t just about her though. “I’m not making it up when I say literally everyone thinks I’m a freak. You haven’t seen them, but they avoid me, walk on the other side of the street.”

“But my tribe didn’t act like that, did they?”

She swallowed hard and lowered her hand. Why was she fighting this? It was like she was grasping at straws, trying to find reasons to stay apart when that wasn’t what she wanted at all.

Still she powered ahead. “It’s not the same as living there. I don’t know if your tribe will accept me like this.”

“You know they will. You’re a warrior, and they respect that. It’s more about who you are than what you are. Now stop avoiding the question. Can you accept yourself like this?” His gaze bored into her soul, and she couldn’t escape any longer.

Her chest felt too tight, and she paced to the fireplace. She spun with hands wide, one still holding the dagger. “I can if you can,” she finally said, her jaw tilting up in defiance.

Wulfric arched a brow and sat up once more. “What the hells have I been saying? Are you not listening? Gods.”

He grumbled as he slowly swung his feet over the side of the bed. He crooked his fingers and said, “Come here, bunny. I’m still too weak to chase after you right now.”

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