Page 20 of Their Promise

I was almost asleep when Kayden jumped through my window.

Screaming, I threw a pillow at him before I realized who it was.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

He caught the pillow and smiled at the snake embroidered on it, a gift he’d given me when we were kids. “I used to sneak in through the window when we were younger all the time.”

“When we werekids. Why are you doing it now?”

“You locked the doors,” he replied, and looked over at the envelope on my desk. Smirking he said, “So, you did read it.”

“I told you I don’t want to talk,” I snapped and sat on my bed with my legs crossed in front of me.

He sat on the edge of my bed and looked at the pillow still in his hands. “My dad always loved you. I used to think he lovedyou more than me, but as I grew older, I realized he loved you in a different way than he loved me.”

We’d gotten into fights a few times over that topic.

Looking up at me he said, “As I got older, I realized that how I felt about you was different, too. I don’t view you as a sister, Lily, because I view you as a packmate, as a potential mate. Because I am interested in you. That’s definitely not how siblings feel for each other.”

Blinking in disbelief I asked, “Interested in me?”

He walked over to the desk, picked up the envelope, and said, “We’re serious, Lily. About this promise. About wanting you as a mate.”

Had I heard him correctly? Really? That was what the idiot had meant by that text?

“Don’t joke with me,” I said softly as I stood and backed towards the door. “It’s not funny to play games like that.”

“I’m not playing games,” he said and waved the envelope at me. “We’re serious.”

“You’re serious about a promise we made when you were six years old?” I arched a brow and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Why are you still single, Lily? You’re a beautiful, smart princess. Surely there were guys vying for your attention while you were at college, right?”

“What I did or didn’t do is none of your business.” Why was it hard to swallow right now? Why was my heart beating so fast?

He stalked closer to me and I backed up until I hit the door and he caged me in. “I know you’re attracted to us. I know you want me just like I want you. Mason may be blind, but I’m not. I see the way you look at us, how you’ve looked at us since at least high school. You didn’t get hurt because you wanted me to think of you as my sister. You got your feelings hurt because you thought I meant I didn’t care about you at all. Do you know what thought gets me through every demon battle?”

Against my attempt not to, I asked, “What?”

“Knowing that you’re out here, waiting for me, for us. That killing those demons helps keepyousafe.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t been waiting for?—”

He pressed his lips against mine and I froze, shocked by the move. The darkness within me swirled in my core and a similar darkness swirled in Kayden’s aura. He pulled back slowly and said, “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. That wasn’t my intention. I laughed because it was such a simple misunderstanding. Because it was so absurd that you would think I had meant I don’t care about you when it was the opposite. But of course, you’re so stubborn, so we’ve been spending all this time chasing you.”

“You could have come to see me. You knew where my college was.” Sure, they were busy fighting demons around the world and doing Trey’s princely duties, but they could have made time to come by for a single day.

He shook his head. “I was too scared.”

“Scared of what?” He was one of the most fearless people I knew.

“Of seeing you with some guy.”

Laughter burst out of me before I could stop it.

He scowled. “Now who is laughing at who?”

“You could have called me.”

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