Chapter 6
Chapter Six
I walked back inside the castle and to my surprise, the green light appeared, guiding me up the stairs and to the left.
I knew classes were over for the day, but I followed it anyway, trusting The Magic knew where I needed to go.
Through hallways and another staircase, I ended up in a library, a huge one at that.
It seemed mostly empty as I continued to follow the green light down the rows upon rows of floor to almost ceiling bookshelves, with ladders on the end of each one reaching all the way to the top.
I was too busy admiring the many books and the sturdiness of the shelves to notice the green light had disappeared. I searched for it but then a hint of orange hit my senses, guiding me forward.
Harpy was standing next to one of the bookshelves, clearly searching for a certain book as he kept taking one down only to place it back up and pick up the next one.
“Need any help?” I offered, hiding my giddy excitement of being this close to him again.
He startled and dropped his book, lightly cursing as he kneeled to pick it up.
“No thanks,” he replied, not even meeting my gaze, his brown hair falling into his equally brown eyes. His lovely eyes.
I stalked forward, not liking that he wouldn’t even look at me. “Harpy?”
He shivered, his body clearly reacting to me, even if he didn’t want it to. He rose, his head still bent and dismissive.
I continued to move until I was toe to toe with him. I took the book and placed it back on the shelf, then turned my attention on my beautiful mate and gently tipped his chin up, forcing him to meet my gaze.
“You know what I am to you. What we are to each other,” I whispered, daring him to look away. I had him caged against the bookshelf. He wasn’t fleeing me. Not a chance.
His eyes gleamed with need and fear as he whispered, “Please don’t.”
“You being with Casey is killing me,” I admitted with a low growl, my dragon wanting to voice its displeasure too.
“Please.”
I ignored his pleas. “Do you truly not care that it causes me pain every time I see you two together?”
His eyes were tearing up as he searched mine. “Plea—"
“Don’t you see how close I am to losing it?”
He tried to shake his head but I held his chin, forcing him still. “I’m sorr—”
I crushed our mouths together, no longer able to resist. His warm lips were heavenly, delectable. Perfection. My dragon roared inside of me, finally claiming our mate as ours.
He didn’t return my kiss at first, but then a shift came over him, he seemed to let go and got all pliant in my arms, kissing me back with eagerness. A pained whimper escaped him as my tongue forced its way inside his warm mouth, dancing with his tongue in a battle of dominance. I won.
I had one hand on his neck, holding his face close as we kissed, my other one around his hip, sealing him against my body.
His hands were on my hips, his hold tentative and cautious, like he wasn’t sure about me just yet.
The thought made me growl, the possessiveness rising within me.
I pushed him further against the bookshelf, my body fully caging him in now, my mouth still fused to his as I let myself relax and enjoy my very first kiss.
Warmth pooled in my gut and then my chest began feeling a tug, my heart seemingly wanting to escape my body and float into Harpy’s. We both groaned as our bond sealed into place, bonding us together as mates.
He broke our kiss, panting heavily as we searched each other’s eyes. He was crying, the proof of what we were to each other likely too much for him to bear. I hoped I hadn’t pushed my mate too far.
Harpy blinked and then hit my chest, forcing me away from him.
“You idiot!” he snapped.
I blinked. “What?”
“You just ruined everything! I can never look at Casey the same way again!”
Now it was my turn to get angry. “You’re not his!”
He scoffed, crossing his arms. “No, you made sure of that!”
The sound of a throat clearing came from our right and had both of us snapping our heads in that direction. Casey stood there, his face a mask of indifference as he slowly approached us, stating calmly, “I made sure of it.”
Harpy looked confused and guilty when he asked, “What? Casey, I can explain—”
“I told Nym to kiss you,” Casey cut him off.
Harpy’s eyes widened. “What?”
Casey sighed. “No matter what I said, you ignored it. You ignored me. I need you to let me go, Har.”
Harpy shook his head, his tears falling. “But I’m not ready to let you go, Case.”
Casey looked straight into Harpy’s eyes when he stated, “I need it.”
Harpy looked both stunned and hurt. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Casey sighed, standing right in front of Harpy now. “I’ve been trying to tell you for weeks now. I want to find my own fated and being with you only hurts my heart. Ever since we knew we weren’t fated, my heart has ached. Please allow it to start healing.”
They were both crying as they watched each other, and I hated every second of witnessing their love. My fated hurt over losing his first love. I could almost feel Harpy’s anguish as he realized Casey truly wasn’t meant for him.
“I’m sorry,” Harpy sobbed, crushing Casey into a firm hug. I had to close my eyes and force myself to stay where I stood. This wasn’t about me.
“Don’t be,” Casey soothed. “Enjoy your mate and allow yourself to feel happy.”
“Okay,” Harpy agreed, his tone a soft whisper.
I opened my eyes again, hoping they were done hugging.
I let out a relieved exhale when I found them no longer touching.
I ached to comfort Harpy, to offer him some sort of calm through all of this.
My hand found his, and to my immense pleasure and surprise, he held my hand back, accepting my touch.
It soothed me down to my fucking toes. This man had the most power over me and I didn’t even care.
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Casey offered, then with a small smile, he left us by the bookshelves.
“Are you okay?” I asked, figuring that would be the best place to start this conversation.
“Just feeling a little raw at the moment. This is just so messed up and my feelings are all over the place,” Harpy answered with a deep sigh.
“Want to talk about it?”
He nodded, so I led him out of the row of books and found two armchairs for us.
“I feel so stupid,” he began, slumping in his chair. “I knew Casey and I weren’t fated, and he’d tried to break it off numerous times already. I guess I had a harder time than him letting go of what we had.”
“According to what Casey told me; you’d also been together for years.”
“We have,” he agreed. “We both thought we were fated. We even told our families.”
“Were they disappointed?”
He shook his head. “More worried than disappointed. Our families are close, so they feared we would end up resenting each other, or maybe not wanting to be around so much anymore.”
I could understand that.
“I think the love you two share will make it possible for you to remain friends,” I stated with confidence. “As soon as Casey finds his fated, it will all make sense.”
Harpy nodded, biting his bottom lip like he was gearing up to admit something. “I can already feel the change.”
I tilted my head. “How so?”
“I um, I’ve always found Casey to be attractive—”
I growled at that.
“—But now…There was no attraction, only love and affection. That was why I cried, because that meant it truly was over.”
“Are you angry at me for forcing our bond?” I had to ask, even if my dragon was still preening and flaring his wings in my mind, proud of having sealed our bond.
He shook his head. “I’ve read up on dragon shifters, ever since I saw you, I knew… I know you aren’t always fully in control.”
“That’s an understatement,” I chuckled. “But I tried my best to slowly work my way closer to you.”
He smiled at that. “I know. You weren’t the only one who couldn’t stay away.”
My brows furrowed. I hadn’t seen or scented him anywhere near me.
He looked down at his lap, a blush forming on his cheeks. “The night you spent in the medical wing,” he began, biting his lip again. “I visited you.”
“In the middle of the night?” I asked, remembering something about oranges.
He nodded, not meeting my gaze as his teeth kept worrying his bottom lip. “I had to see you were okay.”