Chapter 44
Chapter forty-four
Abnus
The night of Oren Byrne’s twenty-first birthday.
Music played, but it was meaningless. He was here.
He was right in front of me. The young man with hair as fair as gold and eyes like the sky danced with a woman, delicate features as the flowers of my tattoo.
Everything aligned around him. Who was he?
It didn’t matter. He was mine. I’d waited so long.
I’d become the representative, contract after contract, to find my mate, and here he was.
The man darted off the dance floor when the music ended, and I followed like strings were attached to me. I had no will of my own. He was my fate, my moon, my light. He was my everything.
He bumped into me, and I steadied him, clasping his arms.
“I beg your pardon,” he said, voice rough and face dark red.
My heart throbbed. Mine. Instinct demanded I place my lips against his and breathe my magic into him, chaining us together.
Another man approached—Lord Byrne. I’d seen Jonathan become the Lord of Sídhetír like his father before him. He glanced at my hands, and I regretfully pulled away.
“Lord Abnus, I would like to introduce you to my youngest son, Oren Byrne, the Heir to Sídhetír.”
“How do you do?” Oren Byrne, my mate, my fate, my everything whispered.
My soul shattered. Agony unlike anything I had ever experienced ripped through me.
Oren Byrne might be my fate, but he would never be mine. No matter how I wanted him, he would never bear my mark or tie his life to mine. Still, I would devote my life to his. I would give everything I had to him, and only him.
“Good evening, Mr. Byrne. I look forward to negotiating with you.”
He squeaked. “As I do, Lord Abnus.”
“I don’t suppose you would like some punch?”
“T-that would be lovely,” he replied, his voice barely audible as his eyes flicked down my body.
I held out my elbow, and Oren slipped his hand into the crook. I rested my gloved hand on his and escorted my mate across the ballroom, knowing I would love no other. Oren Byrne was my everything, and not even time would diminish his hold on me.