Kylan
I twisted the ring on my finger-a habit I couldn’t seem to get rid off whenever I was in deep thoughts. Nate’s voice was nothing but a blur in the background.
We were sitting in the dorm lounge, waiting for curfew to hit. The place was quiet, aside from Nate’s endless ranting about some girl he wouldn’t remember next week.
“So what do you think?” he asked, demanding an answer. “Do I see her a second time or not?”
I blinked, trying to remember what he had exactly discussed. “I…think you shouldn’t. Since when do you do that?” I muttered just enough to get him off my back.
And he did just that, starting yet another rant while my mind drifted away with the only important thing at the moment.
Puppy is half witch.
The thought had been stuck in my head all day, refusing to leave me alone. It didn’t make any sense-none of it.
She wasn’t a Hastings…
She wasn’t a Bloodrose…
Then what was she, and most importantly how the hell did she ended up as a Bloodrose?
All I knew were a few facts.
She is a child of blood-she is a hybrid, her Dad’s name was Alaric, and Adelaide, the woman who the king referred to as a demon-was somehow connected to her.
She had to be her Mom…the witch.
I pressed my lips together, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle in my head. Did she even know? Did Dylan know?
No, she had to be unaware.
If she did know, she would’ve said something that night in the woods when we were forced to share our biggest secrets.
Instead, all she spoke about was her eyes, not about witches or any strange bloodlines.
Besides, she seemed completely thrown off when the Soothsayer said those things to her.
I sighed, only watching Nate’s mouth move.
Had her family been lying to her all this time?
Hybrids were definitely not unheard of, but I knew for a fact that a half witch certainly weren’t welcome at Starlight. They had some academy for them down the road where they belonged.
I wasn’t even going to start on dark witches. They were evil, a disgrace to our world, and there certainly was no place for them on this-
I inhaled deeply, trying not to finish that thought inside my head. Those very thoughts made me uneasy, and I found myself twisting the ring even harder.
What was I even saying?
“Kylan,” Nate said, finally noticing I hadn’t been paying attention. “Are you even listening?”
“Yes,” I said quickly, looking at him.
He squinted his eyes and rubbed his chin between his fingers, staring at me as if he was trying to figure something out. “Are you that serious about her?”
I frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Are we really doing this?” Nate clicked his tongue. “You know exactly who I mean-the one you threw my sister aside for.”
I felt my throat tighten at the thought of him being able to see right through me. “Sorry about that,” I muttered a quick apology.
“It’s fine,” Nate shrugged. “I know how she can get so that’s not important, but Violet-”
“What about her?” I clenched my jaw as he spoke her name. I didn’t like where this was going.
“She’s your mate,” Nate stated. “Why won’t you just accept her?”
I clenched my fist, feeling annoyed. It was none of his business. We never really talked about Puppy like that because I didn’t want to-and I knew he hadn’t asked because he knew better than that-so why now?
“You know I don’t do mates,” I said flatly, not bothering to explain what I had been telling him for years. He knew how miserable my life had been because the king decided to keep his mate, the woman he had never loved-by his side.
How could I keep someone by my side when I didn’t love them?
When I could not love them?
Nate chuckled like he had heard it all before. “You upset her today, you know-by ignoring her?”
I rolled my eyes, then looked away, my jaw tightening. Even though I could never return her feelings, it wasn’t hard to see that she was falling for me-and I had somehow managed to look past that. Act oblivious enough so it wouldn’t directly hurt her feelings.
It was all because hurting her was the last thing I wanted, but now that I knew she was part witch, things were different.
Nate was right.
Today, I had hurt her.
But I had no choice.
‘Witches are no good.’
‘Witches are demonic.’
‘Witches don’t belong in our world.’
‘Witches cannot be trusted.’
‘Witches are liars, and manipulators.’
The king had warned me about them for as long as I could remember. It was what I had grown up learning, what had been drilled into my head.
Those creatures were dangerous, enemies to our kind because they thought they could control us. I couldn’t believe I had slept with one-not once, but twice.
As if her being a werewolf wasn’t bad enough-she was also a witch on top of that.
What was the Moon Goddess even thinking?
I knew I had screwed up with Kayden in the past, but did she really have to punish me this much?
Wait-punish?
A soft growl left my lips.
Being around Puppy didn’t feel like a punishment. If anything, it felt like a reward because she had the ability to make me feel things I hadn’t in a long time.
Calling it a punishment felt wrong…
“Kylan!” Nate snapped, tapping the table with his hand. “You’re doing it again.”
“It’s late,” I said, standing up. “I’m going back to my room.”
I had so many thoughts, so many things to figure out-and sitting here, listening to Nate, was a waste of time. He wouldn’t be able to help me. This was something I had to do on my own.
As I walked away, I heard Nate call after me, “Ky!”
I didn’t stop, didn’t look back-just made my way straight to my room. Once inside, I began pacing back and forth like I was crazy.
I ran my hand through my hair, worried I might end up balding if I didn’t stop. The more I thought of her, the more I regretted my decision.
Ignoring Violet earlier for something she didn’t even know or couldn’t control had been a mistake. She didn’t deserve that-she didn’t deserve any of it.
I had slept with her without knowing she was half-witch-and I had enjoyed it back then. Nothing had changed.
She was a witch then, she is a witch now-so why was I pulling away?
I rubbed my temples, realizing I was the only problem.
It wasn’t just myself I was holding back, but her and the team as well. She was doing better in training, but she still had a long way to go. She wasn’t there yet, and because I couldn’t put my own pride aside and accept that the Moon Goddess had chosen a witch as my mate, I had canceled our training.
As a captain, it was insensitive and wrong.
I had to get my shit together.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my skull. I groaned, stepping back against the wall while clutching my head. I could handle pain, but this was unlike something I had ever felt before.
It felt like my head was getting teared open.
‘Mate!’ the beast growled inside me, loud and angry.
“V-Violet?”
Something was wrong.
I could feel it.