Chapter Eleven
Akasha LaVey
What I Want
The drive back to the apartment building is long and tense. I have a million more questions I want to ask, but I’m not sure Korvin is in the right headspace at the moment. I want to know about his bear, about other shifters, about Aldron and the coming danger he spoke of. But most of all, I want to know about fated mates and what that means for us.
Korvin parks the truck in the basement and leads me to the elevator. The air between us feels charged, especially remembering what he did to me mere hours ago in a metal box just like this one. The memory alone is enough to have arousal thrumming through my veins once more.
When the elevator door slides open, we both step out.
“You have a lot to think about,” Korvin says, his gaze locked somewhere over my head. “And some hard decisions to make.”
“Korvin…”
“Take the night, Akasha,” he cuts in. “Get some rest. The shock hasn’t hit you yet, you are taking this much too calmly. We can talk in the morning if you want.”
I want to argue with him, tell him he doesn’t know what I can handle or what I want, but he is already gone. The door to his apartment is closed and I hear the lock click in place.
How fucking dare he make decisions for me?
Slamming the door to my own apartment I stomp through my living space, wearing my anger like a cloak. It takes me a moment to realize that my cell phone is ringing and another to dig it out of my handbag. I stare at the screen, not sure if I should answer or not, but I do need someone to talk to.
“Ari…”
“Can I come to you? We need to talk. I can’t believe Aldron talked to you without me.” Her words are going a mile a minute and I can’t even get in a word edgewise. “I should have smacked that smug smirk off his handsome face.”
“Ari!” I all but shout to get her attention. When she finally stays quiet, I talk again. “Please…” but the word gets caught on a sob.
“Open the door.”
I stumble to the door, opening it to find the only friend I have standing there. I didn’t even realize I was full-on crying until she wrapped her arms around me, closing the door and leading me to the couch.
“Hush now. Everything will be all right.”
I shake my head vehemently, swiping angrily at my tears. I want to scream at the injustice of the moment, but I can’t stop sobbing.
“Why don’t you take a deep breath and tell me what is going on? Aldron said you were okay when you left his office,” she says rubbing soothing circles on my back.
I take a few deep breaths with my eyes closed trying to calm and center myself. I can’t very well get any advice if she doesn’t know what’s going on. When I finally have myself under control, I pull my legs up beneath me and focus on Ari.
“I can deal with what Aldron told me. I have always been resilient and quick to adapt to change. I’m not sure how I feel about being the great witchy hope, but it doesn’t seem like I have much choice in the situation. I won’t allow vampires to overrun Brooklyn and hurt innocent people.”
“That’s very … pragmatic,” she says with a frown.
“Probably.”
“So why the tears?”
“It’s Korvin.”
“Fuck me,” she mumbles, running her hand through her brightly colored hair. “What did he do this time?”
I want to laugh at her reaction but all I can do is give her a small, sad smile. “It’s a long story but suffice it to say he thinks I can’t handle everything that’s going on.”
“Did he tell you about his bear?”
“He showed me.”
The shock on her face is so comical I can’t help but giggle.
“That’s a big step for a shifter, especially Korvin,” she explains. “Humans rarely react well to finding they’re not alone in the world, not to mention that they aren’t at the top of the food chain.”
“It doesn’t bother me. I’ve been dreaming of him and his bear for a long time.” She gasps, covering her mouth with her hand so I just blurt out everything else. “He says I’m his fated mate. But now he’s shut me out and I honestly don’t know what to do.”
Ari claps her hands excitedly. “I knew there was something going on.”
“There’s nothing going on,” I say, sulking like a six-year-old who didn’t get their way. “We were all hot and heavy and then he shut me out completely.”
“He’s trying to protect you. It’s what male shifters do,” she explains, a tinge of sadness in her voice. “They would rather be unhappy but know you’re not sad or hurt.”
“That is such bullshit!”
“Believe me, I know … how do you feel about using your feminine wiles to get the man you want? You do want him, right?”
“More than my next breath,” I confess softly. “I was half in love with him before I even met him, and now I’m lost to him.”
“Perfect. Then this is what you’re going to do.”