Page 16 of Fated Wings
Vaughn had survived torture, had endured pain most couldn’t imagine. Yet, somehow, the rejection felt like hot coals raking over his bones.
“Nature calls. Be right back.” His voice was the only steady thing about him.
He untangled himself from the blankets and Newt’s warmth then crossed to the bathroom in long strides.
The sink’s porcelain was cool under his palms, grounding him in reality. His mate just rejected him. Why wouldn’t he? Vaughn was damaged goods, a wolf who couldn’t even sleep through the night without attacking the person he was supposed to protect.
He closed the door, the click of the latch sounding like a gunshot. He gripped the edge of the sink, knuckles whitening under the pressure. as he stared at his reflection. The mirror reflected a stranger—hollow-eyed, hair mussed from Newt’s fingers, lips slightly swollen from kisses.
“Fucking idiot,” he snarled to his reflection. “What made you think you deserved this?”
Newt didn’t want him. Why would he? Vaughn was damaged goods. His head was a minefield, his sleep a horror show. Last night he’d nearly killed the fae in his sleep. What kind of mate would he make, jumping at shadows and waking up screaming?
Water rushed from the tap, filling the small space with a soothing white noise. Vaughn splashed his face with the cold water, feeling it shocks him back to his senses.
He scrubbed his palms over his cheeks, trying to erase the memory of Newt’s startled expression, the way his hand had gripped Vaughn’s wrist.
The mirror reflected a truth he couldn’t escape. He was broken in ways that might never heal properly. Expecting someone else to want him, especially someone as bright and unscathed as Newt, was laughable.
A soft knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.
“Vaughn?” Newt’s voice filtered through the wood, tentative and small. “Are you… Can I come in?”
Straightening, he swiped away the water from his face with the back of his hand. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat.
The door opened slowly, Newt standing there appearing fragile. The borrowed shirt hung to his mid-thigh, making him look even smaller than he was. His hair stuck up in tufts where Vaughn’s fingers had mussed it.
His mate was breathtaking.
“We should talk,” Newt stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, hands behind his back. “It’s not that I don’t want…that.”
Vaughn crossed his arms, keeping the sink between them like a shield. “You don’t have to explain.”
“Actually, I do.” Newt’s gaze dropped to the floor then lifted again. “Where I come from, we have rules. Lots of them. And one big one is that fae don’t mate outside their kind.”
“That’s a dumbass rule considering your kind doesn’t control the shots when it comes to mates.” Stop being so pissy and hear him out.
“You’re not the only one who thinks that.” Newt leaned his back against the counter. “It’s been argued in the court many times, but falls on deaf ears.” He picked at a piece of lint on his shirt. “It’s forbidden to leave our realm, but the more adventurous fae sneak out.”
“Like you.”
“Me, adventurous?” Newt laughed, a sound between delicate petals opening and jagged glass. “No. Not me. The most daring I’ve ever gotten was swiping an extra cookie from the pantry. Then the guilt ate at me, so I confessed my criminal ways to my mother.”
Vaughn had never known such an innocent life. He was glad his mate had never faced true evil the way he had. No whips. No cattle prod. No whispers at his ear that made him want to crawl inside himself.
“But you came to the human realm.” He leaned beside Newt, resting his hands on either side of him so he wouldn’t touch. “That was adventurous.”
Newt stared incredulously at him. “Have you forgotten my welcoming committee? Three enthusiastic vampires whose idea of a greeting is relieving me of my blood.”
Vaughn studied his mate. There was something else going on besides a sudden rebellious streak. “Why would a law-abiding citizen break a major rule?”
“Bad things happened. Your body remembers.” Newt’s fingers twisted in the hem of the oversized shirt.
Somehow Vaughn knew his mate wasn’t talking about him. Had someone hurt him? Was he running from abuse? The thought of anyone hurting such an innocent creature made his gut twist in ways that demanded vengeance.
“What if the mind remembers to?” Newt glanced up at him. “What if…” He glanced back down at his hands.
“What, sweetheart?” Vaughn gently pressed.
