Page 73 of Stone Crest: Rise of a Raven
“What are you doing here, mom?” Kingston rises from his chair as she crosses the room.
Immediately I glance out the window to see if she’s been followed.
“One slice of cherry pie.” The waitress announces before she drops it in front of Zander.
“Thanks, darlin," he says before digging in.
“Angeline.” I glance to Kingston. “I wasn’t expecting you here.”
“I know, and don’t blame Kingston. He didn’t know I was coming either.”
“Does Malikiah know you left?” Kingston asks as he takes her coat.
“No. He’s with Bianca.”
“Who’s Bianca?” I ask.
She levels me with her eyes, but I can see the hurt behind them. “His mistress.”
Bastard.
“He thinks I don’t know about her. He thinks I don’t know a lot of things but it’s how I survive. Knowledge is power, son.” She motions to the back. “I need to speak to you in private.”
I push to my feet when Declan catches my arm. “You sure?”
I watch her retreating form. “Yeah. I’m fine."
I follow her to the back hallway next to the bathrooms. It’s dingy, but private enough that we can muffle our conversation under the sounds of the heater.
“There’s so much more I wish I could have told you at the gala, but my time was limited. Just like now.” She swipes her hair from her face and closes her eyes. “There’s something I fear you may have misunderstood about the curse.”
“Misunderstood? It was pretty straight forward from what I remember. I would never find my fated mate.” I lift my hands and let them drop. “So how do you explain Raven? She’s my mate, even you said so yourself.”
She nods. “Yes. But the curse wasn’t for you to neverfindyour fated mate, Sullivan. It was for you to neverbondwith her.”
Instant dread slowly creeps along my spine. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying the punishment was to find her, but never be able to actually mate with her. To never be able to form the bond…...” She glances away. “If you mark her…”
“If I mark her then what?” I demand.
Her hand lands on my forearm in a comforting gesture. “If you mark her, it will kill her.”
I feel like we went two steps forward to get knocked ten steps back.
“Kill her?” I roar.
I feel my wolf start to pace. He’s angry.So am I.
“You allowed this. You allowed this to happen to your own son!” I bellow.
“I had no choice!” She hisses. “He was going to kill Kingston if I didn’t comply.”
This motherfucker.
“But there was a loophole.” She grabs at my arms again. “Charlotte was smart, and somehow empathetic. I think it was because of her love for your brother that she held up her end of the bargain all while giving you a way out.”
“How?”
