Walking out to my car, I yank the door open, dropping into the driver’s seat. My entire body trembles with the urge to go back and claim her. Kaif is growling at the thought of Jonah having her.
He has always been jealous of their relationship. It is evident that Jonah is in love with her; it’s not like he has kept that a secret. Despite that, Marabella is completely oblivious to his affections. But her lack of interest still doesn’t put the beast within me at ease.
I put the car in gear, tearing out of the parking lot, needing to put distance between my mate and me. It was one thing when she didn’t know; now, she knows and it has every part of me calling out for her even more. It is worrying that she’s making me feel out of control.
As much as I hate her, I need her, want her. So does Kaif, but he can be brutal, cruel, and I know he would forcefully mark her if given a chance, and that is precisely why I need to get out of here.
Jonah will check on her and then, rip my head off about it later from a safe distance. It may not bother me that Jonah wants her, but it bothers Kaif, although he seems to accept it. I have a feeling Kaif would give in to anything Marabella wanted as long as he could have her too, but that doesn’t mean I trust Kaif not to hurt Jonah out of jealousy.
He is, after all, a very possessive Lycan. I have no idea what things will be like from now on. But now that shit has already hit the fan, we will just have to deal with what happens going forward.
The highway is thankfully free of traffic, which is good because I have no intention of slowing down, anyway. Jonah is going to be livid when he realizes why I all but ran from the place.
Jonah being with her doesn’t bother me as much as I know it should. Maybe it is because I grew up around them both, observed for so long it now just feels natural to see them together. I know he would give his life for her; he almost has on a few occasions. One time, she fell into the rapids and was sucked under the water. She was seven years old at the time and nearly drowned. They both almost did, before I let Kaif take over and pull them out.
Jonah was thirteen at the time, me sixteen, and once I erased the memory from Marabella, he demanded to know what I was and how I was able to take her memories away. I convinced him it was my power, that Kaif was just an embodiment of it. If she wasn’t in a life or death situation, I’m sure Kaif would have marked her then and there, but his fear for her kept him handled.
Jonah believed me up until he turned twenty, when I finally told him the truth, and he realized that Kaif was, in fact, real and I wasn’t a typical werewolf vessel.
I’m the twelfth cycle generation. Every twelve generations, Kaif returns and doesn’t just inhabit a vessel; he fuses with my bloodline, merging with us. My bloodline isn’t just a creation of the original Moon Goddess Celeste, but something far darker.
My bloodline isn’t just some freak manifestation; it is to house the King, the King of Lycan’s. Kaif is the original Lycan King, Celeste’s first Lycan created, and when Kaif was reborn, he bound himself to a woman, to his mate, and she was the most powerful witch of all.
Ever since their tragic love story ended, history has been doomed to repeat itself, two monsters coming together to create an even bigger monster, forging history. Only this time, Kaif just happens to be reborn into the twelfth cycle again, when another dark entity is roaming the earth; that dark entity is Marabella.
I am nearly home when my phone starts ringing. Jonah’s face pops up on my screen. Fuck, okay, here we go. Answering it quickly, I flick my Bluetooth on so his voice comes through my car stereo to free up my hands as I weave in and out of the cars on the road.
“You lied to me,” Jonah growls through the phone.
Exhaling slowly, I clench my jaw. “So I’m safe to assume she’s okay, then?”
“Were you ever going to tell me?” I can hear the hurt in his voice, and I can’t blame him. Even if I want to, even if only a little. We don’t have secrets from one another, usually.
“I didn’t know how to tell you; I mean, I know that you love her.” He is silent for a second or two.
“Don’t pretend for one second you don’t love her, Kye. I wasn’t blind growing up and I’m not blind now. I saw the shit you did for her, saw the way you watched her only to then take her memories away. You know she thinks you hate her, right?” Jonah’s voice breaks as he speaks.
“Good, I do hate her,” I remark icily. How can I not after everything; she is the reason he is gone.
“Because killing someone for touching her shows that hate. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! What happens now?”
“Now, nothing happens, Jonah. It changes nothing.” My hands tighten on the steering wheel, my eyes train on the road ahead, and the passing cars a blur as I cruise past them. I don’t care about any limits anymore, speed or not.
“For you maybe, but I love her. You knew all this time and didn’t think to say something. And now she won’t want me. Ever, Kye, fucking ever. She knows she has a mate now.”
“Well, I don’t want her; it is better this way. So what’s the fucking issue?” I snap at him.
“Bullshit! You’re a fucking idiot; you don’t deserve her!” Jonah growls at me.
My chest restricts at his words because I know he’s correct, but the hate I feel for her runs just as deep as the love I feel towards her. It makes me conflicted. How can you love and hate someone equally, both emotions so strong, making the hurricane within me just grow stronger?