Page 160 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos
I was too fucking hard on her. Guilt joins the already staggering emotions that are consuming me. She’s fine. I can sense her calmness and happiness. She touches my wrist fleetingly before she nods, glancing between Ahren and me. She then turns and hurries from the room.
“I really wasn’t fucking expectingthis,” Ahren says, his voice menacing. “Not from you.”
“You act like I committed a crime,” I reply quietly.
“We’re… I thought as a friend that you would honour that bond and respect the fact that she is my sister.”
I take out the packet of cigarettes I found in Theo’s car, light one, and look over at the taller man and tilt my head. “Why? Life is fucking short. I won’t hurt her if that is what you’re afraid of-”
“Afraid of? Neither of you has found your mates! I’ve seen her destroyed; I’ve seen her become a shell of what she was. And now, when she’s finally becoming herself…” he trails off, understanding dawning on his face, and what colour he does have in his pale face disappears.
He looks down. “You’re the reason she’s living once again…”
He steps back as I smoke the cigarette, and I give him a minute. He laughs humourlessly. “But you still broke my trust. I told you to train her, to help her, and instead you took aninterest in her?”
“Wrong. There’s always been something, but for your sake and because of our families, I never made a move, not until she showed an interest in me.” I know that sounds arrogant, but it’s the truth, whether he likes it or not.
“And that makes it ok? You should have talked to me first.” There’s anger and hurt in his eyes. “I trusted you. I asked you to help her, not- you know exactly what I mean!”
Black smoke is beginning to surround him, his eyes slowly bleeding into red, his claws out, and I can sense the desire for blood from him. I don’t want to ruin this night for Sienna, so I push aside my own irritation and try to offer him an olive branch.
“I’m sorry for not asking you first, it just… happened. I did try to ignore these feelings, but I couldn’t. I do hope, though, that as my friend you know the kind of person I am. I won’t abandon her or hurt her, you know that. When I make a promise, Ahren, I keep it, and I have promised to be there for her.”
It’s been a hard day, and I can’t take much more of it.
The smoke disappears, and he looks at me with his grey eyes once more. “I do know you, and the fact I’m seeing Sienna being Sienna again is the only reason I’m not taking this further… Seeing her healing from her pain is more important than both of our egos.”
I nod slowly. “It sure is. She’s getting there. She still has a ways to go, but she’s improving, Ahren.”
He exhales sharply and crosses his arms, leaning back against the wall, one leg bent, foot pressed against it. His eyes narrow. “And what if one of you finds your mate?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I reply sharply.
“It does matter! The bond of mates-”
“She’s my mate!” The words escape from my mouth before I can stop them, my eyes widening in shock as the air goes still. I freeze. My chest tightens. My own voice echoes back at me. The words are surreal, rendering me speechless.
Sienna’s my mate?
My mind blanks.
Fuck.
Sienna is my fated mate.
She’s mine.
Goddess… She’s mine.
Ahren stares at me, stunned. His arms drop to his sides, his face unreadable. “What? You can’t know that.”
“Yeah, maybe, but it’s true…” I murmur, combing my fingers through my hair. The day was becoming a lot, but this time, it is a dream come true. Sienna is made for me, and I am made for her.
“Then why the hell do you look so shocked?” Ahren asks, narrowing his eyes.
I don’t answer at first; I don’t know how. My hands are trembling. I rake my fingers through my hair, my heart pounding like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest.
“That’s… that’s the first I heard of it,” I mutter, sinking down into the chair beside the door. I lean back, leaning my head against the wall behind me.
