Page 44 of Fated to be Enemies

True, I’d saved him. It was an action I was beginning to regret in moments like this, but I wouldn’t say that to him.

“You’re strolling through the forest with me right now to be friends, remember?” I argued.

“That’s only for appearances while we’re here.”

I shook my head. “We’re not going back to Fire and Fluorite, Markus. At least I’m not. You can try, but I honestly don’t think you should.”

“My father won’t accept me coming home without you,” he said harshly. “I’m not welcome otherwise.”

“Doesn’t that tell you something, then? I mean, what kind of parent acts like that?” I asked, knowing he wouldn’t be able to recognize that kind of treatment for what it was. “Why do you want to go back to that? You have a real chance to start over here.”

“He’s still my father.” Although Markus said the words, his voice faltered, and I wondered if he believed his own excuses.

I stopped, turning toward him. Nova slowed, then sensed my emotions and sat at my side. “He didn’t treat you with the same courtesy.” I saw the sadness in his eyes. He knew the truth, but the inner turmoil must have been immense. I would never be able to understand the feeling. I couldn’t relate. I had a family that loved me deeply. “Blood and Beryl accepted us. Forget the reason why. I’m going to make the most of it. We can work on separating the bond, and we can find you some sort of job here. Purpose. It’d be good for you.”

“I’m not separating the bond.” He scoffed.

“Dammit, Markus,” I said under my breath. “I know this will probably come as a shock to you, but I don’t want you to suffer. The sooner you reject the bond, the easier it will be. I’m trying to help you. It’s only going to get harder for you over time, especially after I . . . formally move to become the . . . queen.” I moved the dirt around with my boot, looking down at the pattern it created.

Our conversation brought up another question I needed to ask. How was that going to happen? What was the process for that? My stomach dropped at the idea of some sort of public ceremony. Nova’s body jostled, like she was laughing at me. Internally, it made me happy she could lift my spirits. I nudged her side in jest, and she turned her head, sneezing on me, sending some spittle onto Markus’s arm.

He glared at my wolf, pointing to her. “Does she have to be here? She follows you around like a chaperone. I wasn’t aware we needed one.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, and Nova snarled. “You don’t get it, do you? She isn’t my pet. She’s a part of me.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

Indignation coursed through me. “It doesn’t have to make sense. It just is. She’s what I would be if I could shift my body, but I can’t, and we carry a piece of each other. You’d know that if you’d listened to me just one time—and not because some stupid mate bond said I meant something to you,” I added, making sure he wouldn’t use that to argue with me.

I shouldn’t have risen to the occasion. Every part of me knew better. I stormed off and saw the clearing ahead as the trail came to a stop when the tree line met the manicured lawn of the estate.

Markus ran behind us, catching up as we neared the path’s end.

“Why are you walking away from me, Dannika?” he asked, his voice low and angry.

Keep going, I told myself. There was no reason to engage. Nova picked up her pace, shaking her head and grumbling loudly.

I started to follow her, but I had walked away for so long. And I was done.

I whirled around, pointing a finger at my chest, then his. “Because I’m trying to be nice. I’m trying to make this work, helping you. And you . . . ugh. You just make it so hard. This entire conversation feels so forced. You can’t even be nice to me. We have a damned mate bond, and you still can’t find it in yourself to be decent to me. You don’t even know me. Your snide remarks and underhanded comments. All of it. So I’m walking away from you and I’m going to go talk to someone who isn’t an awful jackass.”

“What do you even see in that parasite?” he spat. “It’s him, isn’t it? That’s who you plan to talk to.”

I threw my hands out, pointing at the mansion behind me. “Elias barely knows me and he’s shown me more kindness, more sincerity, and more respect than you’ve shown me in our entire lives. He respects Nova and understands what she is, not treating us like we’re lesser or unworthy. If that’s what I’ve committed my life to by making this deal, then sign me the fuck up.”

Shock rippled through my mind as the words left my mouth, surprising me with the accuracy of the statement. It was true. Every bit of it. Even with the supposed desire and pull the mate bond was supposed to have, it didn’t matter. Markus was who he was. And my pretend mate—the King of Blood and Beryl—was the polar opposite.

I huffed a humorless laugh, putting my hands on my hips and looking at the ground. “I’m trying to be a friend to you, Markus. I want you to heal from whatever you went through. I’m trying to care.” I paused, shaking my head, and I took a deep breath. “And I honestly don’t know why. It’s more than you deserve.”

“He’s not your mate,” he said through clenched teeth.

“He is now.”

Markus ran his hands through his hair, then turned, reaching back, and punched the trunk of a conifer. The wood split with a sickening crack that rent the air. Then he turned to me, walking in long strides.

I backed up in hurried steps. Flashbacks of our youth played in my mind. I’d stayed too long—and just stoked that fiery temper of his.

Nova yelped a warning to me just as the heel of my boot hit something hard, and I fell backward. Instinctively, I reached out for Markus as he held his hand out to catch me, but my fingers never found purchase. I slammed against the ground with a thud, my arms flying up, and my head smacking into something hard.

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