Page 15 of Mesmerised

Reality finally kicked in, and I wasn’t certain whether I wanted to laugh, cry, or rip Antoine’s head from his shoulders.

I backed away from him, towards the bedroom door. This man, or whatever the hell he was, had just admitted why I’d lost everything dear to me. My hand grasped the door handle.

“Donna.” It was a plea. He grimaced as if in physical pain.

He held out his hand towards me. I put mine up and closed my eyes.

“We’re done here, Antoine. Keep your lies and bullshit for someone who gives a damn.”

“Please, let me explain.”

I turned my back on him, gripping the door handle tighter. “We. Are. Done.”

I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me with such force that it shook. My feet took me through to the living room where Jeanie, Mac, and another couple sat. Not even glancing at them for a moment longer than I had to, I headed for the outside and ran along the beach.

Coming to a halt some way from the house, I collapsed into the sand and cried. Because of Antoine, I’d lost everything in this world. His words about being fated mates had condemned four people I loved to death. There was no coming back from this. If it meant we died, then so be it. I was done anyway.

Then why, when I thought about losing Antoine, did my heart constrict inside my chest?

ChapterSix

Antoine

Donna’s words and the hatred I heard in her voice almost killed me. If she was going to continue to blame me and reject our fated bond, we’d both be dead soon anyway. Then another Hybrid would be created to take my place. That was how it worked. If one died, another was made. Of course, there was hope I could persuade Donna to stay. I could tell her how strong this bond was. But if she still rejected me, then there was nothing else I could do.

The stupid thing about this? I could tell, deep down in my soul that she was aware of the connection between us. It was so strong there was no way she couldn’t sense it, even if she didn’t understand what it was. I was going to need a hell of a lot of help with this. I walked into the living room to see four pairs of eyes boring into me.

“I take it your chat didn’t go down too well.”

“You could say that, Lorenzo. She blames me for what Gustav did to her life. I’m not so certain there’s any coming back from this.” I hated to sound defeatist, but I didn’t know how to handle it.

“Well, we haven’t given up on you yet. Would you like me to go and talk to her?”

Isabella was my hero in that moment.

“Yes please. Maybe I answered her questions wrong. This is so hard. I thought we’d meet, fall in love, job done.”

She kissed my cheek. “Anything you haven’t had to fight for isn’t worth having.” Isabella patted my cheek and headed the way Donna had gone.

“I think it’s time to get the book of our histories out.” Lorenzo was already walking in the direction of my library.

“We’ll go and sort out some food. It’s a lovely day. I think I’ll get out the barbecue.” Mac sent me an encouraging smile.

Jeanie smothered me in a motherly hug and whispered, “she’ll come round, son.”

I hoped she was right, and I knew I had to fight for this. Deep in my immortal soul, I knew she was the only one I could ever love. This meant I’d have to fight and keep on fighting until she realised just how good our life could be with each other. And together, we’d bring down Gustav once and for all.

* * *

Donna

After my tears dried up, I sat and watched the sun shimmering on the water. It really was a stunning place. Somewhere I’d consider settling down. But after Antoine’s revelation, I was too hurt and angry to even consider being with him. That had always been my problem growing up. Stubborn as a mule, my dad used to say. And he wasn’t wrong either.

“Beautiful here, isn’t it?” The woman’s voice startled me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said as I buried my hands in the sand.

It was the woman from Antoine’s living room. She had glossy dark brown hair and warm brown eyes that were alive with compassion.

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