Chapter 17 Emotional Trauma
Juniper
My breathing came in great heaving sobs. My steps slowed. I couldn’t go back to my family. The extended family would be arriving soon, and I didn’t want my mother and sister to see me like this, and especially not Derek. I should have let Caspian punch him.
The gaping hole in my heart tore open and I doubled over, resting my hands on my knees as I fought back the heartbroken wail fighting to escape my chest.
He wasn’t anything like I thought he was.
I believed Caspian was my dream guy, and I had sincerely hoped our connection was real. And it was real, but he was lying to me the entire time. Manipulating me .
Somehow it hurt worse than when Derek left. My expectations for Derek had been in the dirt, but Caspian had me believing that he was better—that I was special to him.
Fuck!
My chest ached, like a cord was wrapped around my ribs, pulling tight, dragging me back to the water. I had to be imagining it.
Twisting, I peered back at the edge of the water. Caspian was gone.
I felt like I was breaking apart.
Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled back to the water. Instead of facing the waves that Caspian had used to swim out of my life, I walked along the edge, staring at where the white foam lapped at my feet.
The selkie marriage I’d been working to dissolve all week was a sham. I’d run around town “losing” his coat like an idiot, trying to undo something that never really existed.
He’d even told me that selkies had fated mates and they could be other magical species. If we were really fated mates, that would have been a great time to tell me. He had so many chances. Didn’t he?
I was too hurt from his lies to think clearly.
And the dreams. Fucking hells!
He knew everything that had happened in my filthy dreams because he’d been there too. I’d used him like my personal sex toy. All those things he’d whispered in my ear replayed. My face flamed .
So last night, when I finally gave in to him, it wasn’t even the first time we were together, not really.
Memories of his hands on my body, his cock plunging into me, his teeth on my throat poured through me. That cord pulled tight, and I gasped, wrapping my arms around my middle.
The shared dreams had to mean we were fated mates. It was true. I felt that bond between us. I’d been feeling it all along, but I thought it was the selkie magic of his coat.
I’d like to think that if he’d told me from the beginning we were fated mates, I would have accepted him, but somehow I knew that wasn’t true. I would have been terrified and pushed him away. His awful little plan had worked—I had fallen hard for him.
Walking away from him was excruciating.
I’d made a horrendous mistake.
There was no way I could ignore this bond between us and continue with my life like it was before I met Caspian. There was no going back.
Maybe, just maybe, he could explain his reasoning, and I could understand why he’d made the choice to hide our fated bond from me. I’d never know if I didn’t give him a chance.
But he was gone. It was too late. I’d thrown away a fated bond. This was it. I’d never be able to love anyone again, not when my soul was tied to him. No one would compare to Caspian.
A fresh wave of tears poured out, and I turned, stumbling into the waves. My knees hit the wet sand. The next wave swirled around me, soaking into my dress.
Chest aching, I raised my face and looked out over the water.
A seal face poked above the water. Soft spots covered his silvery pelt, and pale whiskers twitched on either side of his adorable face.
I was entranced. That cord behind my ribs tightened, pulling me toward the seal. He disappeared from view only to pop up closer.
In a shimmer of magic, Caspian appeared. His coat draped over his shoulders, and water soaked his button-down shirt and pants. He walked toward me, unbothered by the sea water up to his waist.
I stared at him, too afraid to hope this was real. He stopped a few feet away where the waves crashed over his calves.
“Juniper, you can yell at me, punish me, but let me be with you,” he said. His gray eyes glistened as if he was on the verge of tears.
“I’m so sorry,” I rasped. “Please don’t leave me. I’m so, so angry, but I’m also completely in love with you. I don’t think I can live without you.”
He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around me and throwing us back into the surf. Water rushed over my hair and dress as his mouth covered mine in a searing, possessive kiss.
My entire body filled with a humming, joyful magic. There was no denying the flow of emotion between us. I should have realized. The bond tying us together was so obvious, like a glowing tether between our hearts.
I clawed at his back, needing more of him desperately. My lips parted, and his tongue plunged in, tasting me. One of his hands cradled my head, while the other braced us in the wet sand.
The kiss broke, and he pulled back to look into my eyes.
“Juniper, you’re mine. My fated mate to love and care for. You can’t be rid of me. Even if you sent me away, I’d wait for you. Forever.”
I lost myself in his mouth and hands. The swirl of sea water around us vibrated with magic. I was a water witch, and the heady combination of my fated mate and my element surrounding us had my vision sparkling.
“Tell me I can take you home,” Caspian said. “Fuck the family reunion.”
“Yes,” I managed to say. We could visit my grandmother later. She was the only one I cared about seeing anyway, and after what they did, I wanted nothing to do with my mother and sister. “Let’s go home.”
Caspian lifted me into his arms. Water streamed off our bodies, running down his chest. His silver hair dripped over his shirt collar and onto his coat slung over one shoulder.
I expected him to walk toward the cottage so we could retrieve my purse and call a rideshare, but he walked along the edge of the water .
“Where are we going?” I asked, breathless.
“My house, little witch.” I’d never seen his grin so wide. “I want you in my bed.”