Page 15 of Shifting Hearts

I shake my head vehemently, swiping angrily at my tears. I want to scream at the injustice of the moment, but I can’t stop sobbing.

“Why don’t you take a deep breath and tell me what is going on? Aldron said you were okay when you left his office,” she says rubbing soothing circles on my back.

I take a few deep breaths with my eyes closed trying to calm and center myself. I can’t very well get any advice if she doesn’t know what’s going on. When I finally have myself under control, I pull my legs up beneath me and focus on Ari.

“I can deal with what Aldron told me. I have always been resilient and quick to adapt to change. I’m not sure how I feel about being the great witchy hope, but it doesn’t seem like I have much choice in the situation. I won’t allow vampires to overrun Brooklyn and hurt innocent people.”

“That’s very … pragmatic,” she says with a frown.

“Probably.”

“So why the tears?”

“It’s Korvin.”

“Fuck me,” she mumbles, running her hand through her brightly colored hair. “What did he do this time?”

I want to laugh at her reaction but all I can do is give her a small, sad smile. “It’s a long story but suffice it to say he thinks I can’t handle everything that’s going on.”

“Did he tell you about his bear?”

“He showed me.”

The shock on her face is so comical I can’t help but giggle.

“That’s a big step for a shifter, especially Korvin,” she explains. “Humans rarely react well to finding they’re not alone in the world, not to mention that they aren’t at the top of the food chain.”

“It doesn’t bother me. I’ve been dreaming of him and his bear for a long time.” She gasps, covering her mouth with her hand so I just blurt out everything else. “He says I’m his fated mate. But now he’s shut me out and I honestly don’t know what to do.”

Ari claps her hands excitedly. “I knew there was something going on.”

“There’s nothing going on,” I say, sulking like a six-year-old who didn’t get their way. “We were all hot and heavy and then he shut me out completely.”

“He’s trying to protect you. It’s what male shifters do,” she explains, a tinge of sadness in her voice. “They would rather be unhappy but know you’re not sad or hurt.”

“That is such bullshit!”

“Believe me, I know … how do you feel about using your feminine wiles to get the man you want? You do want him, right?”

“More than my next breath,” I confess softly. “I was half in love with him before I even met him, and now I’m lost to him.”

“Perfect. Then this is what you’re going to do.”

Chapter Twelve

Korvin Slater

Toys? Not on my Watch

She slams the door to her apartment, and I want to put my fist through a wall. I listen to her move around and all I want to do is go to her. Her phone rings and the sob she releases tears my soul to shreds. I hear Ari next door, and I hope she can offer my mate some support.

My bear whimpers—for the first time in his damn life—while she cries, and it takes everything I have in me to stay in my own apartment. Instead of going to the woman I love and claiming her like I want, I strip down and get in the shower.

After cleaning myself thoroughly, I shut off the water, dry myself with one of the dark grey towels, and fall into bed naked. All I want to do is sleep this fucking night away and hope things look better in the morning.

I lay there taking in the silence when a noise catches my attention. First, I think Akasha is crying again but then I recognize it for what it really is. A moan.

My senses are on full alert and a moment later I can smell her arousal through the walls. I know I have no right to wonder what she is doing, but my mind is flooded with erotic visions of my sexy mate spread out across her bed.

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