Optimistic for once, he doesn’t care who he hurts to have her. There is only one problem – it is always his mate and himself. He would be his own destruction.
If history is anything to go by, it continuously repeats itself, and I can’t allow that until we break the curse. Not until we know for sure she is strong enough to survive him. Because if he marks her, he will mate her, which will kill her. His love for her would be her end.
Jonah’s phone rings and he moves around, fetching his phone from his back pocket. He looks at the screen before showing me, and I growl when I realize it is Marabella.
I wave at him to answer it, and he does. Kaif wants to snatch the phone from him to scold his mate about kissing him. But upsetting her more holds him back. I honestly can’t understand him; he wants to kill Jonah but blames me. He wants to punish Marabella for her betrayal but doesn’t want her to hate him.
I am getting a headache from his whip-lashing emotions. None I can understand.
However, when Jonah answers, and her frantic voice comes through the phone, warning Jonah to stay away from me, he snaps, lurching forward before I even register Kaif has stolen control. Her concern for Jonah sends blind rage through him.
Jonah jumps also thrown off guard as Kaif shifts, tearing my skin off to shift faster. Then, he lunges at Jonah while I try to hone him in. Yet, I am fighting a losing battle as I feel us start to merge, his instincts become mine. The sliver of our humanity I clung to giving away, as those instincts tell us to kill him for touching our mate.
Marabella
We are about ten or fifteen minutes from home. My stomach twists every time I remember Kyan’s last text message. I won’t lie, I believe he will deliver on his threat. The very thought is making me sick. I know he will go through with it. And I truly believe he will drag me there himself if I don’t show up to Rose’s birthday. Kyan is dangerous, very much so, and I must keep that in mind.
Suddenly, another thought occurs to me – Jonah. My palms sweat and my heart rate spikes. I feel like I can’t breathe and there is something carving through my chest, claws ripping my flesh, intent to get to my heart and rip it out.
How far will Kyan take this? They are friends, but I don’t trust him one bit. There’s no saying what he might do to Jonah now.
When he said I would regret it, how did he mean that? Is he planning to hurt Jonah? But would he? Is he really that awful, that heartless to hurt his best friend just to get back at me?
That is the only way to get even. My family is untouchable, but Jonah isn’t…
He will hurt him to get revenge on us both. My heart is trumping louder now, and I try to control my shaky hands. No, I need to calm down. He is his friend. They are friends, best of friends, bound by blood.
But the worst part is that no matter how desperately I try to remind myself of the reasons why he wouldn’t hurt Jonah, I still can’t calm myself down. The unease keeps growing.
“Well, call him!” Kora hisses at me.
This time, she agrees with me. She thinks the same as me and is worried, and can’t seem to get her mind off things. I quickly grab the phone and fumble with it as I try to stop my hands from shaking so I can unlock the damn device. I’m a fucking mess.
I start typing the message, but Kora’s intense worry floods through me and she insists I need to give Jonah a call just to be sure he is okay. Her worry makes my already heightened anxiety so much worse. Damn, this is a mess.
“Are you okay?” My father asks, and I nod as I dial the number.
I take a sharp breath and try to get my emotions in check. Please, please, I beg whatever gods are out there, please let him be okay.
“Yeah, I just want to check on Jonah,” I answer smoothly, in contrast to how I feel inside.
“But you just saw him. He will be fine.” He waves me off.
“But what if he goes to Kyan’s?” I chew my lip nervously. Please Jonah, just stay put, don’t seek out Kyan, don’t test fate. Please, just don’t.
“Did he threaten Jonah?” my father growls, and I shake my head.
Technically, he didn’t threaten Jonah. Me, yes, that message is a crystal clear threat. And though there isn’t any threat aimed at Jonah, the worry still eats at me.
“Marabella?” My father demands, diverting my attention. All it takes is for him to call my name, and he pulls me out of any stage of my mind’s prison I’m stuck in.
“No, but he isn’t happy.” I shake my head and let out a shaky breath. My eyes focus on the phone screen as I whisper, “what if he does something to Jonah?”
Saying that out loud, letting myself hear the question makes the situation worse than a moment ago. Pain consumes me. The fear surges through me in waves as I think of the possibilities and everything that might happen to Jonah. With each second passing, the worry grows stronger and more intense.
“Not likely. Those two seem close, they always have been, but if it makes you calm down, just ring Jonah,” My father says and yawns. He is so calm about this situation, I can’t believe him. I get the yawn, he’s tired, all because of me, but the calmness is something I can’t understand.
But then again, do I want him to worry? Haven’t I bothered him enough? Haven’t I fulfilled the daily burden quota for my father yet? All I do is cause him trouble. I think it’s better there’s no panic on his side. He will forget how I complicate his life.