CHAPTER ELEVEN
CONNOR
ONE HOUR EARLIER…
How the hell did I fuck things up so badly? Watching Falcone sitting with my girl, making her smile, making her laugh, I wanted to kill the bastard… again, but I also owed him for getting in my face this afternoon and finally knocking my head out of my ass.
Not that I’d tell that know-it-all little shit so.
“You and I need to talk. Now. Start walking.”
Normally I would have just told him to take a long walk off a short pier, but Lettie was hurting, and the quicker I put distance between us, the better she was. We quickly made our way to the end of the library, out of sight and out of hearing of the others. We rounded another corner to an isolated hall but didn’t make it far before Falcone turned and slammed me against the closest wall.
“Do I have your goddamn attention now, Connor?”
“What the hell’s your problem?”
“My problem is you’re a giant shithead, and normally that isn’t a problem, but you’re hurting your mate and my new sister, and that is unacceptable. Why are you ignoring your mate, and worse, why does it seem like being near you just harmed her?” Falcone’s genuine concern warred with his anger. He let up and stepped back, concern winning out.
I threw my head back and fisted a handful of hair in agitation. Truth was, I really didn’t know why myself anymore. Over the last few days, the reasons I’d had before seemed to fade to the overwhelming need I had to go to her, be with her, comfort her, apologize for being a colossal jackass, and beg her forgiveness. I didn’t think I was going to make it much longer. That morning was spent in meetings, drafting apology speeches, and trying to figure out how I was going to confess that we were actually mates, and she was now stuck with my stupid worthless ass.
“Honestly, Fal, I can’t remember why. I mean, she deserves a fuck of a lot better than this, but she is my mate. I need her like my next breath. I know that. Just haven’t figured out how to tell her.” Dropping my hand to my neck, I continued with an easy grin. “And the answer to your second question is because she caught me off guard.” I laughed. “She was jealous of Fallon. Can you believe it? She actually projected her emotions through the wall I’d put up against the mate bond. It shocked the shit out of me so much I ended up dropping the wall completely, and I guess the suddenness was too much for her.”
But Falcone wasn’t laughing. No, his body had gone rock solid. “You fucking idiot!” he barked, and shoved my back against the wall once more. “Did you mind any of the Elders’ lessons? The entire race of Navah is gone because they played with matters of nature they shouldn’t have. They taught that the mate bond was precious and never to be tampered with. The damage could be significant and long-lasting. Damn it, Connor! She’s feeling everything you are, as strongly as you are without an explanation. Then you go and screw with your bond, damaging it, so she’s going from zero to a hundred, feeling nothing, then drowning in sensations. She is human. She does not have the centuries of practice you do having others in her head. Gods, the poor girl. She must think she’s losing her mind on top of everything else she has lost this week.” Having exhausted his anger, he fell to the wall across from me.
“Fuck. Shit. I will fix this.... I will. I have to.” I pressed a hand to my stomach to keep from being sick. My mate meant the world to me and to know I’d messed with our bond goddamn gutted me.
“Luckily for you, you have a brilliant brother who did pay attention and also has been brushing up on the mating tome. I will double check, but I believe none of the damage is permanent. Yet. I think the bond will mend once the mating is completed, but I suggest you drop your damn wall and stop fucking with it anyway.”
And I had. She was close enough I could feel everything, but far enough that they were whispers rather than shouts. I could sense the damage too, like bad reception for a radio station, but instead of static, I would get spots of dead air.
I hated it. What I hated more was that I was the cause.
“Hey, Connor.” Dean elbowed me in the side to get my attention. “Looks like your girl is going to sing before we leave.”
It did. Lettie was making her way to the stage as Fallon finished belting out another song. Gods, was my girl bewitching. I bet her hair was even softer than it looked, and those jeans hugged her ass in a way that had me with a constant semi that screamed for attention. Unfortunately, Mr. Stiffy was as stubborn as his owner; one person, and only one, could soothe what ailed me. Tonight, when we got home, it was time to start groveling and earning my mate. With a quick, discreet adjustment, I moved to Lettie’s abandoned seat to see the stage better.
“Seriously, Fallon? First ‘No Scrubs’ by TLC, then ‘No’ by Meghan Trainor,” I commented with a smirk.
Fallon threw her head back and laughed. “Maybe he will finally catch a damn hint.”
“Sorry, baby, that’s doubtful. If anything, you made it worse. I noticed you basically sang only to him, giving him your full attention and throwing down a challenge.” Leaning forward with my elbows to the table, I said, “If you really didn’t want his attention, you would have told him to stop, blocked his number, and told us to have him back off. You didn’t.” I raised my brows at her scowl, but it was true and she knew it. “You respond to every text, pick up every call, and most likely he will be in your bed tonight before he has to head back to Louisiana to take the meeting with their regional coven leader. You realize he pushed that meeting so he could make this detour to see you, right?” Her eyes widened for a second. I snorted. “It wasn’t to get a load of Warren’s sexy mug, that’s for sure.”
She pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at me. It was so sweet when she got annoyed. “Shut it, dickhead.” She may have planned to say more, but we were interrupted by the keys of a piano.
I sat and watched my every dream and nightmare come true.
Lettie was beautiful, soulful. I had a well-known crush on the songster Taylor Swift, and I thought fate had created my mate to her likeness. I was wrong. Though they may have similarities at first glance, my Lettie was far superior. Her voice had a natural husk that became magic when she sang.
But it was what she sang that was slowly killing me. She gave each word so much feeling it left zero doubt of her feelings for me; the pain in her voice was there. She didn’t know how to handle what she saw with Fallon and me when she was emotionally connected to me. My heart ached for having heard the anguish rise.
Gods. I’d royally screwed up, having her think Fallon was in my life in more ways than just a friend.
Unless… was I overthinking things, and could she be singing that song about another man? Why that random thought popped into my head I didn’t know, but it made fury rise inside of me and left me with a need to find the truth, because if there was another man I would find the bastard and kill him.
She was mine; no one would have my Lettie.
She hit her final notes, and I was already moving. Shit, my heart pounded hard in my chest at the sudden thought of her not wanting to leave with me. My hands clenched at my sides. I’d make her understand, I was her one and only. Or throw her over my shoulder to take her home, seduce, and fuck her till she saw reason; either worked for me.
“Warren, I’m taking Lettie home. Can you follow?”
“Do I really have much choice?”
“No.”
“Didn’t think so.”
The roar of applause was deafening. As I reached the side of the stage, I grabbed her hand. The touch of her skin drove a tingling sensation over my body; I saw Lettie shiver and knew she’d felt it also. I shouted over the crowd that she was to come with me. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her eyes rounded, and her cute mouth dropped open. Still, she nodded, and I led the way, barely slowing to open the front door.
“Con—”
“Shut it, Lettie, and get on the damn bike,” I barked, then winced, though she didn’t catch it. She didn’t deserve my anger, but the thought of her and another man was eating at me. I was not having this conversation in a parking lot. Thankfully, she nodded and did as I asked.