Page 106 of Beneath the Starlight and Storms

“I think… I think we might be mates.” I open my mouth to tell him more about what I’ve been feeling and the signs that were there. But he sighs and gives me a hesitant look that makes me pause.

“I know, Tink,” he says.

Three little words and everything inside me freezes. With the next three nearly destroying me.

“I’vealwaysknown.”

CHAPTER28

“You… Youknew?”I shake my head as the thick fog tries to wrap around my mind and drag me under.

He knew we were mates and never told me, butwhy?

“Tink…” Hook reaches for me as I take a step back, needing some space. Anger sits at the corner of my mind, just out of reach as a mixture of confusion and hurt settles over me.

Heknew. He knew we were mates,even in Neverland,and never said anything. He just…left.

“Why, Hook? Why didn’t you tell me?” I look at him making sure he sees the pain in my eyes. The accusation and hurt he’s inflicted with only a few words.

He flinches as if I’ve physically struck him but remains silent.

“Why?” I demand. I don’t understand why he would keep something like this from me. I need him to explain.

He gives me a sad look. “You know why.”

I clench my fists as my pain soon turns to anger. “No, I really don’t. You left. You—”

“Peter.” Hook’s eyes flicker with pain. It matches the torrent of agony now growing inside my chest at the realization.

“You had Peter,” he says.

Peter…

Hook takes advantage of my moment of shock and steps closer. Hurt flashes in his eyes as he reaches for me before stopping himself.

“I wanted you to be happy. I wanted it more than I wanted my own happiness. And if that was withhim,then so be it.” Clenching his hands at his sides, his eyes beseeches me to believe him. To believe that what he did was for the best.

He thought I would be happy. After all, Peter always looked after me when Hook was with us. It wasn’t until he left, did Peter slowly start to show his true colors.

But even then, I was still oblivious to it.

It took months of manipulation and slowly crafted lies before I even started to question if it was wrong. But by then he had already created a web of doubt in my mind. One so deep and vast that I didn’t know what was real or fake anymore.

I look into Hook’s eyes and see the truth swirling around them.

He truly thought I would be better off without him. He didn’t know what the real Peter was like. He didn’t know the type of games he liked to play or how much he enjoyed the look of pain in my eyes.

He didn’t know how alone I was without him.

He left formyhappiness… And yet his absence brought nothing but pain.

I never understood why it hurt so much after he left. It was as if something important was missing from inside me. But now I know it’s because we’re mates. And when he left me in Neverland, he took a piece of me with him.

“Tink…” He reaches for me again, but I pull away from him and step back.

“You chose Peter,” he tells me. But he’s wrong. I never chose Peter. Peter was all that was left. I had no one else.

“I chose Neverland. I chose it because I couldn’t...” leave. I couldn’t leave at the time. I didn’t know there was another way to stay hidden from my past. I thought I had no other option.

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