Chapter Two
Like every other time Lee had interrupted her planning, Calissa found herself waking up naked in his bed, wrapped up in his arms, the following evening. His chest rose and fell softly as he breathed, and, as if he was mocking her even in sleep, a smirk quirked at his lips.
“I hate you,” she whispered angrily, and yet, despite her words, she remained wrapped in his embrace with her heart-shaped face pressed against his cool chest.
She knew the love-and-hate they shared did not make the healthiest relationship, but it never affected her the way it did as of late.
Because it was no longer just about the two of them.
Sighing, Calissa wondered if she would ever gather the strength to tell Lee that consequences finally caught up with their wild passions.
She had known that she was pregnant for three days now, and kept telling herself that all she was waiting for was the right moment, but in her soul she knew she was simply too afraid of his reaction. The volatile mix of dread and joy that the knowledge that she would soon become a mother filled her with was torment enough even without being reminded that the only thing that worked in the relationship with the baby’s father was sex.
Lee was only ever tolerable when he slept, and if she moved then she’d have to listen to him speak. This was much easier to handle. Besides, if she got up now she’d have to listen to reports on how many vampires had been staked during the day, and demands about why she hadn’t sent in a formal petition to request military support from the Lords of the Vampire Council.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have multiple petitions drafted, it was more that Lee had the attention span of a goldfish, and he was the one who had to actively submit and present the petition as the ruling monarch of their coven. Every time she’d tell him exactly what needed to be said, and every time he’d come back without the Council’s support.
The very thought left her blood boiling in her veins, and she shoved the naked man away from her with a huff. A satisfied smile formed on her lips as the air audibly whooshed out of his lungs.
“W-What was that for?” Lee gasped, after wheezing for a few long moments. Genuine hurt filled his dark eyes, and for a moment a pang of guilt tore at Calissa’s heart.
“Nothing. You deserved it anyway,” she snapped, already on her feet in all her naked glory. As she moved, her neck and shoulders protested in pain. She knew they’d be all marked up and bitten to shreds.
“Calissa?” Lee called out to her, a frown on his face, but she was already storming out of his room. “Calissa!”
Eyes moved all over her form, some openly staring at her plump breasts or taut butt as she walked by, but she couldn’t bring herself to care in her irritation. Why did Lee have to be so incredibly useless?
Speak of the devil... Familiar hands gripped forcefully at her bare hips from behind just as she reached her room. If she turned around now and looked Lee in the eye then she’d end up broken hearted, angry and confused later on.
“Calissa. Turn around and look at me,” Lee demanded. His tone rang with tension and pain, and as he turned her around his eyes glared with anger.
“Don’t you dare walk out on me again,” he snapped, ignoring the stares and glares his naked form received as he towered over Calissa.
Part of her wanted to reach out to him and allow him to pull her into his arms. Her heart ached to be loved and coveted, but her head could not forgive him for his incompetence and his indifference.
“Until you do your job, there is nothing between us!” she said, her hands pressing weakly at his chest. Had she truly wanted to push him away, she would have, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. “Until you act like a ruler… Like a leader, we are nothing!”
With each accusation, Lee’s eyes filled with pain and his hands dropped to his sides. With the way he hunched over, it looked like he’d been punched in the stomach, and when he opened his mouth to speak, she already knew what he was going to say. This happened every time they shared a bed together.
“I love you, Calissa. Can’t you see that?”
Of course she knew he loved her. She knew he wanted her as his mate, but she couldn’t forgive him for getting his people killed. For getting their people killed.
“I have another petition proposal. Stop by later tonight,” she said, as she opened her door and shut it right in his face, before he could say anything more.
For a moment, she stared at nothing, thinking of the pain on his face, and then she sank to the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn’t love him… Not when he was on the path of condemning them all to death.