Page 78 of Owned By Two

I would rather live with thepossibilitythe Joisa was there, that I could still be with Lizzy, than to know conclusively that I had no chance of being with her.

And so, I didn’t look.

I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I’d gotten dressed, covering it up, but felt it throb with invisible fury.

It didn’t really throb, of course — the Joisa couldn’t be felt — but I imagined it all the same.

A knock came at the door.

“It’s unlocked,” I said.

The door creaked open and a large figure dressed in black entered.

It was Blor.

I wasn’t surprised to see him.

The only surprise was that he had taken so long to visit me.

We had alotto talk about.

He just stood there, glaring at me with all the hatred he could muster. “Youdarecome between Joisa fated mates?” he snarled.

His expression was pained and dark, pale like the blood had been sucked from him.

In such a state, he was capable of anything.

At least one of us had to be calm.

“Shut the door,” I said.

The tendons in Blor’s jaw tightened and for a moment, I thought he would refuse to do it.

Then he slowly turned and slowly shut it.

I turned back to the mirror and fiddled with my tie.

It wasn’t quite right and I hated how tight it drew as the day wore on.

But if you did it just right, you could make it look perfect without being strangled.

In the mirror, I made out Blor move up behind me.

I turned to face him. “We need to talk above this like full-grown Elkik males and not resort to physical violence—”

Blor delivered a crushing blow to my jaw that sent me reeling to one side.

I staggered but found my feet.

I checked my lips weren’t bleeding before raising my hands. “There’s no need for this.”

“No need?” he spat. “No need? There’severyneed!”

He squared off against me once more, his huge fists like battering rams ready to smash me in the face.

“Look at my bed!” I snapped.

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