Page 15 of Guarded
It was always thrown back in my face when the sun rose. It was easy to fool myself in the darkness, but the cold light of day left nowhere to hide.
My relationship with Lyle, if you could call it that, had been painful. Being the leader of my former unit, he’d been able to drag me back into his clutches repeatedly. Walking away from Juniper had almost killed me, but I’d done it. I didn’t regret it either. I’d built a new life with the Seraphim—one I was happy in, and immensely proud of.
It didn’t stop me from missing the rest of Juniper. I doubted a day would ever go by without me thinking of Atlas. Of wondering what new recipes Rowan had discovered. Of worrying about who Dash had managed to offend with his lack of filter.
I hadn’t realised that leaving the unit would’ve meant losing them too, but it had. After months of my messages and calls not going through, I’d gone to Nate to see if there was a problem with my phone.
It turned out the issue was with the relationship I believed I’d had with them. A relationship that apparently no longer existed once I’d formally broken ties with Juniper.
They’d blocked me. Every single one of them.
I had hoped I might hear from Atlas and Rowan after that awful day with Lyle, Micah, and Nox on the beach, but there’d been nothing.
Their silence spoke volumes.
As much as I yearned to make things right, I didn’t let it put a dampener on my new life. I’d found a happiness with the Seraphim that I’d never experienced in Juniper. Likely because the leader of the unit wasn’t a sociopathic narcissist who took pleasure in manipulating me.
I was happy. Perfectly content. I wasn’t letting Jeremiah’s arrival on the scene tank that. I’d worked too hard to slip back into old ways now.
Even if Jeremiah was more beautiful than I’d remembered.
That beauty was a facade though, just like with Lyle. He’d given that away with that sarcasm-loaded comment.“Don’t let meeting your fated mate interfere with your day.”
I gritted my teeth and flew higher until I felt the air start to thin. Theimpudenceof the fucker. What he was saying was that he wanted the meeting to happen on his terms. When it was best forhim.
Fuck what Iwanted.
Well, it was tough shit for Jeremiah. If he thought he was going to have a simpering, doting mate, he was going to be as disappointed in fate as I was.
Maybe it’s better this way, I told myself. Better to know now that your fated mate isn’t going to bring you happiness any more than Lyle did. Now you can stop hoping.
My gut twisted. I hadn’t pinned my happiness on finding my eternal mate. I knew better than that. I certainly hadn’t planned on finding him any time soon.
Yet it was still disappointing to know that type of all-consuming love wasn’t on the cards for me. Not on both sides, anyway.
Coming to a halt, I sighed. Here, high above the ground, I could almost pretend Jeremiah didn’t exist. Could almost forget the heart-rending pain I’d felt flying away from him. But thanks to the pull in my chest, I couldn’t. I didn’t want Jeremiah to be my mate, and from all appearances, he didn’t want me either.
Still, the pull couldn’t be ignored forever. No doubt that was what had brought Jeremiah back to me in the first place. Not because hewantedto see me, but because his instincts had forced his hand.
With a sigh, I let mine guide me back home. Not to Jeremiah, but to the compound.
Fate might have plans for us, but I was tired of following the paths others set for me.
It was time to forge my own.
Half of me expected to see Jeremiah stood on the doorstep, exactly where I’d left him. I didn’t know why, but I felt a pang of disappointment when there was no sign of him.
Good. That’s good. You don’t want to see him.
If I repeated it enough, maybe I’d start believing it.
Judging by the tugging of the bond, he was close by. Made sense. He shared a house with the demons he’d escaped Hell with. Nox had lived there once too, before he and Micah were mated.
That was fine. Jeremiah could rot there for all I cared.
Laughter filtered through from the kitchen, as well as the mouthwatering scent of Ez’s lasagna. Eating meant explaining my absence. Answering questions about Jeremiah.
Finding out if any of them had spoken to him before he left.
