Chapter 22: Erick

 

 

 

My heart was beating faster than I'd ever experienced before in my centuries' long life. In the shadow of the trees, Aiden gazed up at me, lips slightly parted. Breathing. Waiting.

Curled up deep inside, my dragon was tempered by the serene brown of Aiden's eyes. Tell him, it was urging me. Tell him…

Somewhere over our heads, a bird took flight. A cricket began to chirp.

I took it as a sign.

"I almost left yesterday to return to the Wood," I said. Hearing myself say those words made my heart thump even faster. My hands were trembling at my sides.

Aiden blinked slowly. "I know. Rowan told me. Why were you going to leave just like that?"

"Because I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

I sighed. "Of my feelings for you."

Aiden's eyebrows cinched together. He raised his chin slightly, a sign of defiance, or perhaps frustration. His eyes glistened in the slanting light.

"I don't understand you, Erick. First, you save my life, and you kiss me, and you tell me I'm yours. Then, you tell me you're not ready for anything because you're still in love with Sigurd. Now, you're saying stuff like this?" His voice broke several times as he spoke. He paused to swallow a few times. "Make up your mind about me, Erick. What is it that you want? Do you even like me?"

"Very much so," I said sadly. "And…you're wrong."

His eyebrows flew up. "I am?" he said sharply.

Something swelled up inside of my chest, and I knew I'd have to admit everything once and for all in that moment, or else I'd never have the courage again.

"Yes, you are. Because I'm not still in love with Sigurd. I'm in love with you."

I heard the clap before I felt the sting of Aiden slapping me.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he whispered in a quivering voice. Tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to fall.

I was blinking back my own tears. "Aiden, please—"

He grabbed me by the front of my shirt. "If you're so in love with me, why did you try to leave yesterday? Why can't we be together?"

"I told you, I was scared—"

"That's just an excuse!"

I grabbed his hands. "Sigurd was my fated mate, and losing him was the greatest pain I've ever known. Going to the Wood was my only escape. But destiny has given me another mate, and feeling that pain again is what scares me the most."

Aiden's fingers loosened and released my shirt. "Wha-what are you saying?"

I blinked once, and tears slid down both cheeks. "It's you, Aiden. You're my fated mate."

His hands dropped out of mine. "How long have you known?" His voice was disturbingly calm.

"Since the moment we met," I said.

A red flush splashed across Aiden's face. "You knew this whole time?" he said as he backed away.

I felt a stab of alarm as he stepped out of touching distance. "I didn't know how to tell—"

Aiden's face reddened even more and crumpled, making him look angrier than I'd ever seen. "Fuck you," he spat, in a voice like a stabbing sword.

He turned around and ran.