Page 47 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“I smelled him on her skin,” I snarled back. “She has no reason to lie.”

“Of course she does. You lied to her while we traveled. From her perspective, you used her, plainly and simply. That makes you no better than an enemy to her.”

“I’m not her damn enemy.”

“Ravv.” Her voice was amused. “You may be fated, but you haven’t treated her as a mate. You fed her and touched her, but her life is at risk because of you, and her whole world has been turned upside down. If she had done any of those things to you, she’d be your enemy. If she did all of them? She’d be buried in ice and earth already.”

I shook off her reason, and the guilt that burned in my chest because of it.

My gaze jerked down to my wrist as it started throbbing, and I growled a harsh, “Turn around. She’s in pain.”

Gleam skidded to a stop in the middle of a large bridge.

Someone yelled at us, but I didn’t let myself retaliate.

“You either want her as your mate, or you don’t. If you want her, you’ll go back to her room and apologize for losing your head and leaving her trapped in ice restraints. Then you’ll apologize for making her feel like you were using her, too. If you want her, your place is to make her feel loved and important, not to lose your mind when she kisses another man in an attempt to get revenge.”

“If that was her goal, it clearly worked,” I growled.

Gleam chuckled. “Of course it did. She’s seen enough of your moods to know how to hurt you.”

As much as I hated the idea, I had to grudgingly respect her for it.

“And what if I want her? My people could lose their damn minds and turn on us.”

“Many of your people have partners. They wouldn’t hate you for having the same,” Gleam said, starting her walk back in the direction we had come from. “And if they do, you’ll kill them.”

I barked out a laugh. “That easy, huh?”

“You know I find it sad that fae remain alone for so much of their lives. I’m still trying to convince Coarsefur to consider going into the mated city so he can find a companion. Being without a companion makes him grumpy.”

“Everything except you makes him grumpy.”

“True.” She chuffed. “A mate bond is good for everyone, including fae. We’re not at war with Jirev and Vuuth anymore. Even if you do decide to seal your bond with Laeli, you could simply retreat to the mated city until you’ve had the chance to kill Ria.”

“I suppose.”

A furious Elwynne and her playful bonded idorr, Swift, met us on the next bridge. The fae around us ignored us for the most part, thankfully.

“Gleam talked you down?” Elwynne asked, her expression wary.

“She did.”

“Veil, what were you thinking? That human is going to hate you, if she doesn’t already,” she tossed out.

“She probably does,” Gleam agreed, broadcasting the thought to all of us.

“She doesn’t hate me,” I grumbled.

“She’d be a fool not to,” Elwynne said, as the idorr began carrying us back toward the castle. “If you want her to go along with your plan now, you’re going to have to grovel.”

I had never groveled in my life, and I wasn’t about to start.

“Bring food when you do. She needs to eat more,” Gleam said.

It had been irritating me since I left her side a few hours earlier that I hadn’t made sure she ate something. Gleam’s words pushed that over the edge.

“I’ll apologize with food,” I agreed, though not entirely thrilled about it.

---