1907

~Tove

Keo hasn't returned. It's been days.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. I'm cold, but I don't want to get out of bed to close the balcony doors.

Keo is my mate. This isn't a nightmare, it's real...

Rolling over, I stuff my pillow over my head. What am I going to do?

The past few days have been me mindlessly wandering between the bedroom and the kitchen. I can't tell if I'm awaiting Keo's return, or dreading it.

Either way, I haven't been able to bring myself to leave and return to Territory One.

The slanted rainfall drenches part of the wood floor of the room, the curtains billowing around wildly. I'm miserable...

I can't be mated to Keo. I just can't.

It's not like we can sit down and talk like a normal couple. We can't go out on dates, or sweet walks, or anything else that's average for mates.

He's a murderer. He's shady, he lies and he keeps secrets. He manipulates, and he hurts people, and was likely planning on killing me.

He may still. Or he may never return.

It's clear he doesn't want a mate. He has other priorities, that's clear. I wouldn't have even found out he's my mate had I not come to his bedroom late at night and kissed him.

He wears gloves for a reason. He has no intention of making a life with me, even if I wanted to.

A shadow shifts along the floor. With a yelp, I sit up, looking toward the doorway to see Keo standing there, watching me.

I rest my hand against my chest, feeling it rise and fall rapidly. "Woah. Keo..."

He looks terrifying, standing there amongst the darkness, dressed in all black. It's the middle of the night, and he's suddenly shown up...

"You scared me," I breathe, when he doesn't speak.

He remains silent, not moving. A flicker of lightning strikes the room, a crack of thunder loud enough to make me flinch following shortly after.

"You left without a word and now you're here in the middle of the night. Seriously?" He shouldn't have left. Even though this isn't something either of us expected, he should have stayed and spoken to me.

He walks a step closer. "You're my mate."

"Obviously." Come on. Talk to me.

He takes another step, the minimal light in the room catching his face, accentuating his features. I suppose I am mated to one of the most attractive people to walk these lands, even if they are cruel to my kind.

"How is that possible?" He asks breathily, as if this were all a set up by me.

I shake my head, sitting up straighter in bed. "Trust me, I wish I knew. Nature is cruel."

"This can't happen." He stands a couple feet away from me, as if getting any closer would make the mate bond truly real.

There is no escaping this...it's as real as the storm raging outside.

"Am I that terrible?" My heart hurts, like he's punched me.

His gaze softens as he steps closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. He looks so vulnerable, stripped bare of the façade he constantly wears.

This is the closest I've ever gotten to seeing the real Keo.

"This isn't about you, or your worth as a mate," he explains slowly, allowing me to absorb every word. "It's about me."

I exhale, rolling my eyes. "Of course..."

"I mean it. You don't want to be mated to me," he insists.

I scramble out of the bed, knowing I need to get properly dressed, that I can't stay here any longer. Our deal is off, I'll find another way for me to save Mary.

"I get it, okay? I'm an Angel-blood and you're some powerful Demon who doesn't want to be held down by someone when he could get anything he wants," I mutter, ripping the drawer open.

"That's not it at all," he insists.

I shake my head, pulling a shirt out. Without another thought, I tug my sleep shirt off, replacing it with the proper shirt.

Keo can see me in a bra. Whatever.

"But me being an Angel-blood doesn't make it easy," I grumble, stalking over the closet, throwing it open.

"No. It doesn't," he admits coldly. "Especially since I'm sworn to hate them."

I turn around, my coat in hand.

"I'm not like those who hurt you. I promise." My voice cracks a little. What more can I do to make that clear?

Keo swallows thickly, eyes consumed by dark emotion. "You're my mate. All you can do is hurt me."

I release a long breath, dragging the jacket over my shoulders.

He's right. And all he can do is hurt me...

"Return me home then. We never have to cross paths again," I offer calmly. My throat aches with the tears I hold back.

Keo frowns a little. "I can't do that."

My heart flutters, until I realise why he's not going to release me from this deal...Not because I'm his mate, and he wants to make this work, but because of my magic.

"Because you still need me," I growl. My hair whips around my head as the wind blasting through the door picks up.

"It's more complicated than you think."

"You still haven't told me exactly what you need from me," I remind him. He's keeping me here, and yet he hasn't made it clear exactly why.

He shakes his head grimly. "You'll find out when I need you to."

I stand there, staring at him. I feel so foolish, still in my sleeping shorts with this oversized jacket, looking at him and all his magnificent state.

"So I'm staying?" I'm scared of his answer. I'm scared he will tell me to stay, and we will have to make this work, and I'm scared he will send me home, and I will never see him again.

He raises his hand, the balcony doors slamming closed behind me. I flinch, as the room falls quiet, only the sound of the rain beating down on the glass to be heard.

"It won't work," Keo tells me, his voice barely above a whisper.

My stomach twists. "Why not?"

I know he is being sensible right now, not allowing his emotions to drive his decisions. But it's easy to feel hurt by this...I'm cursed to forgo a mate because he doesn't think he can be with me, and I don't think I can be with him.

"Do you really see yourself falling in love with me?" He shakes his head, like he doesn't believe anyone could be in love with him. I can't tell if it's from an inherent feeling of worthlessness, of if he knows for a fact that he is unlovable.

"I don't know...I don't know you," I remind you.

I never looked at Keo as someone I could be with for the rest of my life. Maybe a night of fun was in my mind, but that was it.

Now, the man I fear so deeply is my mate.

"I'm afraid the more you know about me, the less you will like me," he murmurs, sitting down on my bed, head falling into his hands.

I stay rooted in my spot, not wanting to get too close. "There is only one way I'm going to find that out."

Keo stays quiet. I've put out a silent invitation to get to know me, to give this a chance. This could by poorly, but I know I'll regret not giving this mate bond a chance.

He stands suddenly, pushing his shoulder back as if he is about to make a business proposition to me.

"I'm only going to say this one time. That is how important this mission is to me," he breathes. No lies, no manipulating. This is Keo in his barest form.

"What is it?" I ask warily.

"I'm giving you a chance, now, to back away from this. You do not need to help me. I will help your friend, Mary, and you may go on with your life, and you will never see me again," he explains.

I freeze, that information slowly sinking in.

He's going to save Mary. He's allowing me to go home, to pretend like nothing happened between us. I would be able to live a normal life, but I would be without Keo, without my mate.

My mind is spinning, weighing up the benefits and negatives.

A normal life. No death, no murder, not mystery. No mate...

"So if I leave now, you're out of my life forever," I clarify. Keo nods. He suddenly appears so unbothered by this all. His expression is calm, eyes blank.

He's either using reason, or he doesn't care which option I chose.

"It would be the best. You would be safer that way," he adds.

"What about the Noble's?"

They don't care that Keo has let me go. They probably wouldn't believe me if I told them Keo is done with me, that they don't have to worry about any harm coming to me.

If I wanted them to leave me alone, I would have to tell them he's my mate, which would cause far more problems...

"I can't promise they won't come after you, that they won't try to ship you off and change your name to try to save you," he mutters, casting a glance off out the window.

I shudder. That's the last thing I want.

Keo's eyes darken. "Not that it would work. I'll always know where you are."

"I don't want my life to change like that. Especially not because they told me to," I mutter, tucking my jacket closer around me. I'm suddenly cold, chilled by the idea of leaving here, even though I'm coming to realise that it's probably for the best.

"If they do that, I'll get you out of there," he assures me quietly.

I blink. "So I would see you again."

He takes a step toward me, lightning flickering over his face. "Tove. You can either stay, or you can go."

This is it. I have to make the decision.

I look over him, my mate. There is no forgetting who he is. A Demon, who has a terrible plan he still won't reveal to me, despite us realising we are mates. If he can't even tell me the truth, what hope do we have in the future?

"You'll save Mary?" I ask lightly.

He nods, eyes never drifting from my face. "I know someone who can help."

Pain, like being stabbed with a knife, strikes my stomach. It hurts, knowing the decision I need to make. But I can save Mary, and get on with my life...I'm strong. I don't need a mate.

Especially not one who could do more bad than good...

"I want to go home," I tell him firmly.

Hurt flickers in his eyes, but he's quick to hold his hand out to me. "Then home you shall go."

My hand slides into his gloved one, the leather cold.

I'm leaving here, leaving him. And yet somewhere deep inside me, I don't believe that I'm never going to see him again.

💗••💗

~Midika 💜🐼