The next morning I woke up wrapped in Darius’s arms. I have to talk to Markus. I don’t know what to say. But I have to say something. I managed to get away from Darius this morning. And head straight out to find Markus. Darius was exhausted last night, so I am not surprised that he didn’t wake up.
I find Markus down on the training field. He smiles at me as I approach him. “Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling this morning?”
“Did you find out anything?”
He looks away and stares at the ground. “There is only one way out. Darius would have to die. I can’t kill my brother, even if part of me thinks he deserves it.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “I would never ask you to do that. I also can’t do it either. I don’t know what to do next. I think it would be best that you just reject me or something. That way you at least can move on with your life. You don’t have to feel this. I am so sorry.”
He looks back in my eyes. “I am not going to do that. I want to see if we can find another way. I may not have found it yet, but I know there has to be something. You didn’t make this choice. I know you love me. I love you. There has to be a way.”
“Darius wants me to have his child. How am I supposed to deal with that? Then we are marked so I do have some feelings for him. I may not love him but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about him.”
“He’s my brother, I care for him too.”
I let a few tears fall, “Then you know what you have to do.”
He shakes his head. “I am not doing it. I am not letting you go yet. I will respect that you are my brother’s mate, but I am not losing you.”
“What does that mean?”
“I won’t press my advances. But I will still love you. I will still find a way to make you my mate.”
I nod. “Fine. I will keep my distance as well. That doesn’t mean that I love you any less. You know that right?”
He smiles and cups my cheek. “I know.”
I take a step back, because there is nothing I want more than to kiss him. I want to run and hide in his arms and stay there for eternity. I can’t though. I am mated to his brother. “I will see you around.”
“Yes, you will, beautiful.”
I turn around so that I am walking away from him. “Sophia.”
I look over my shoulder at him. “Yes.”
“Does he know you are my mate?”
“Yes he does.”
“That means he is going to be watching us. All the time.”
“I know.”
He sighs. “This may be the last time I can tell you this. I love you.”
“I love you too Markus.”
Then I do the hardest thing ever and turn away from him. I walk all the way to our room and don’t stop until the door is shut with me and Darius alone. He looks up at me from the bed. “Where did you go?”
“I rejected Markus. I told him that there is no us. I am your mate.”
A smile spreads on his face. He climbs out of bed. Usually he is naked, but last night he put on basketball shorts to make me more comfortable. He wraps his arms around me. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I know it was hard. I know you love him.”
“I am your mate Darius. I will always be your mate.” He kissed me and I let him. I kiss him back. Giving up on the life I could have had with Markus. I know that I love him, but I made a choice to sacrifice myself to Darius and that is what I did. I belong to Darius. He pulls back and rests his forehead on mine.
“I want to stay here with you today. Can we do that? I want to connect with you. I am not talking sex, because I know I have to earn that but time, please.”
I chuckle a little. “What are we going to do?”
He smiles and pulls back a little. “Well, first off I am going to go get us some breakfast. Then we are going to snuggle.” I let out a giggle. “Yes, snuggle and watch a movie. I want to eat with you, dance with you, love you. Show you all the ways that I am going to be here for you. All the ways that I am going to be a better mate to you.”
I wave to the door. “By all means get me some food.”
He picks me up and spins me around a little. “I will be right back. Don’t run away from me.”
I cock my head and give him the look that says he is being ridiculous. “I am not going anywhere. I told you that you are my mate. Where would I go?”
Planting a chaste kiss on me before rushing out the door. I don’t think I can ever love Darius, but I can care about him. Just the same way that Markus does.
I look around the room for something to do. I really don’t have much here. I need to start feeling more comfortable here. This is where I am going to be for the rest of my life. At the moment I have my bear and picture on the nightstand and clothes in the closet. I don’t even have books. I do have my phone. I guess I could download a game or book or something.
I pick up my phone and see a message from Sasha on it.
SASHA: He is still mine. Not that I can blame you, his dick is fantastic.
I set the phone back down. It feels like a slap in the face. She is never going to leave this alone. I accept this fate, but she has not. She made her bed, but she sure the fuck isn’t going to lay in it. She is going to try again. She will do that again. She wants to hurt me.