Chapter 12 #2
Raikar settled on the bed beside her, close enough to feel the heat radiating from her body but far enough to avoid crowding. His composure felt paper-thin as she clutched the poetry collection like a lifeline.
"That's okay." He nodded toward the book. "You found my favorite."
Her cheeks deepened to rose. "The poems you marked were quite beautiful. Do you really believe all that? About souls recognizing each other across time and space?"
The question hung between them like a bridge he could either cross or burn. Raikar had never admitted this truth to anyone—not even Veynor during their deepest conversations about duty versus desire.
"I've always wanted a love like my great-grandparents had.
" The words tumbled out. "They were fated mates, and though I never knew them personally, the stories my father told, the clan legends, the pictures I have—they showed a love so real and pure and strong that I refused to settle for less.
My father and grandfather entered arranged matings.
Sure, they had love, and I cherished my mother deeply.
But they never had that soul-deep connection. It was respectable. Appropriate. Safe."
Jade's expression softened, her sharp edges melting as she studied him with new understanding. "So I'm really your fated mate."
"Without question. I knew the moment I saw you and confirmed it when we shook hands yesterday."
"That strange awareness I've been feeling, that pull toward you—"
"The mate bond."
She set the poetry book carefully on his nightstand. "I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. I'm still upset about the marking, even though I understand it was accidental. I know you would never force that on me."
"Never. I was hoping that once we grew closer, you'd choose me and the bond fully. We'd complete it together, as equals."
"Well, no use thinking about that now. That's not how it happened."
Guilt crashed through him, and through the partial bond, he felt her absorb the emotion as if it were her own.
"I can feel your guilt so strongly. Ever since you left for your meeting, I know you feel terrible about what happened."
"I regret the premature marking—not the bond itself, not what we shared, but stealing your choice in how it began." He dragged a hand through his dark hair. "But we have a bigger problem now."
"How can there be a bigger problem than accidentally binding me to you?"
"My meeting wasn't exactly a meeting. It was a mating announcement.
" The words tasted bitter. "I should've told you sooner, but it was delicate.
You'd just arrived yesterday, and I wasn't trying to force the bond on you.
But the council chose a mate for me—someone who wasn't you.
They didn't know I'd hired Gerri to find you.
After a decade of waiting, their patience ran out. "
Jade shot to her feet. "Wait, what? You hired Gerri to find me?"
"Yes. She owns the Paranormal Dating Agency. She's a matchmaker with a one hundred percent success rate."
"So this whole thing was orchestrated?" Her voice climbed with betrayal. "I was never brought here because you needed strong warriors for missions?"
"That was just a story to ease you into coming. Gerri knew you'd refuse if she told you outright you were being brought as my fated mate."
Jade's face turned crimson with fury as she processed the deception. Without warning, she bolted for the door.
This is it. She's leaving for certain.
Raikar's panther roared as he launched after her, taking the stairs three at a time. She'd nearly reached the front door when he caught her uninjured arm—not hard, just enough to stop her flight.
"Jade, listen to me. No one intended to hurt you—"
"That's exactly what happened!" She wrenched against his grip. "You both played me, and now I'm here, partially bound to you. What am I supposed to do now?"
"Trust me."
"Hard to trust someone who couldn't tell me the truth from the start."
"I wanted to desperately, but I thought you'd leave immediately. I'd never get a chance to know you, connect with you."
She pulled free and stumbled to the couch before his fireplace, collapsing as tears began streaming down her face. The sight of his fierce mate crying because of his cowardice nearly shattered him.
"Don't cry, Jade." He knelt before her, his hands hovering helplessly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you yesterday. I'm sorry I was too much of a coward to be honest and risk you walking away. But would you have given me a chance if I'd told you that you were my fated mate during our first meeting?"
"No," she whispered. "Probably not."
"I understand if you want to leave and never speak to me again."
She looked at him through her tears. "Hard to do that. We're connected in ways we can't undo."
"Jade, I'm sorry for everything. I don't know how to make this better," he said softly. "And you probably don't want to hear this either, but at the courtyard tonight, I told everyone I chose you as my mate."
"You publicly chose me? In front of the whole clan?"
"Yes. I wish you'd been there to hear my declaration." He paused. "Xylen threatened me this morning. Said I had to choose Sera or lose my title. But tonight, I didn't choose Sera. I chose you."
Something shifted in her expression—surprise perhaps, that he'd risk everything for her.
"Did you lose your position?"
"Not yet."
"What do you mean, not yet?"
"Since I announced you as my fated mate, Xylen invoked the ancient Trial of Shadow. Fated mates must prove their sacred bond by surviving a week in the deepest jungle together. It will happen in two days."
The blood drained from her face entirely. Through their bond, he felt her anxiety spike to dangerous levels.
Her eyes fluttered as she swayed, her breathing becoming shallow and rapid. "I don't feel good—"
Without hesitation, Raikar swept her into his arms and carried her upstairs to his bathroom, stepping into the shower fully dressed and blasting the cold shower spray with her still in his arms.
The shock of icy water hit them both like lightning, their soaked clothes clinging as he held her tight against his chest, feeling her heartbeat gradually slow to match his own steady rhythm.
"Jade, everything's going to be okay. Just breathe with me."