Interim #2
“There were human characteristics in me that were hard for him to comprehend. There were demon things in him that were the same to me. However, we always found our way. And considering my mood at present about your father, I am a-okay with throwing him right under the bus in telling you that we fought, rather heatedly, about him arranging your marriage to King Tanyn. Indeed, we’ve been having uncomfortable discussions for around four years, since he started pressuring you to marry. ”
Dear gods.
About that, I’d had no idea.
“However, leaving you like you were in your bed at Berg Castle was the last straw,” she continued. “So I shared how I felt rather succinctly with your dad. I also shared it with Tanyn.”
Hang on a second.
She…
What?
Lord in Hellfire, Tanyn had mentioned he’d spoken to Dad. And to Mom.
I’d just been in such a bad headspace, I hadn’t processed it.
“Your father did the same,” she said. “Though, it was too little too late for me when it comes to your dad. I say that, but you shouldn’t worry either. We’ll find our way around this. Just not now. After witnessing you in that state, I’m still too angry.”
“Mom,” I whispered yet again, not knowing what else to say.
“I understand Tanyn heard what we had to say. I’m not sure what he said to you.
But now, I’m concerned because this is clearly what you wanted.
For that contract to be voided. It has been.
And you seem very upset. Now, in hopes of helping with that, I can tell you, your father is digging deep to find his way beyond his nature so he won’t marry you off to some other male.
I can’t guarantee that won’t happen, or he won’t continue to put pressure on.
I can guarantee I have and am continuing to give him things to think about. ”
I didn’t know whether to rush around my desk and give her a hug because I loved how much she loved me, and just how beautiful a mother’s protection felt, or scream at the top of my lungs before sharing with her I wished she’d spoken to me before she did to Dad…and especially Tanyn.
But it was done now.
And truthfully?
It wasn’t their fault.
Tanyn had given up on me.
Scraped me right off.
Let me go.
After telling me time and again he never would, he did.
He gave me precisely two and a half weeks to get used to the idea of my entire life changing, and just under four days of being around him, in his life, his places, his world, to start doing that.
And he gave up.
I’d been dating Bash for seven weeks, and all that went down with him hurt when it was over.
I’d had far less time with Tanyn, and he’d wrecked me when he made us over.
So regardless how it happened, and who got those wheels turning, it was over in a way it never would be anything but.
And now, I had a job ahead of me.
Laura and Aleksei’s engagement party was not far away, and there was a good possibility Tanyn would be there (I knew he’d been asked and RSVPed yes, however, with all that was going down in his realm and what had happened between us, I wasn’t sure that was the case anymore—I’d have to ask Laura, just… later).
However, I was going to have to put a rush on that job to get over it, just in case I was faced with him there.
“Catty, you’re not saying anything,” Mom prompted.
“I love you,” I said. “I love Dad. We’ll get past this.”
That was all I had.
“We will, my love,” she replied. “I’m so sorry what your father put you through.” She gave me a wobbly smile. “And yes, I threw him under the bus again with that, because it was all his idea.”
I returned her wobbly smile.
“I just wish I’d fought harder for you so you didn’t have to go through it,” she admitted.
“Oh, Mom, it isn’t anyone’s fault.”
It was.
Partially…Dad’s.
The bigger part…Tanyn’s.
“As you know, I disagree,” she said.
“Well, then, it’s over and there’s no point in placing blame,” I amended. “Everything heals in one way or another with time. We just have to give it that.”
“All right,” she agreed. “Now, on to better things, do you have your gown for the engagement party selected?”
“Lancet made me something. I already have it.”
“Excellent.”
“Do you?”
Her smile wasn’t wobbly anymore. “Oh, dearest. I ordered mine the minute I learned they were fated mates.”
I still had a wobble in my return smile because I was thrilled for Laura and Aleksei. They were very happy. They were very in love, and from what I could tell, fell deeper into that every day.
The problem was that part of my brain that sat way back was telling me I’d had the same in my grasp, and it had been cruelly ripped away.
By the male I was falling head over heels for.
After work, I was walking home (yes, all five blocks from Tempera to my flat, in heels, doing this without a problem since I did it all the time), feeling the autumn chill in the air, and unable to stop myself from comparing it to the freeze of Sigil.
I was equally unable to stop myself from thinking I quite liked the freeze of Sigil. It was bracing. And worth it for the view and the hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps.
Though, I refused to think about what really made it worth it.
The company.
I had a bag in my hand from Lion’s Mane, a premier purveyor of prepared-ingredient Cook-Companion meals that was luckily on my way home (they knew me by name there).
It was lobster ravioli, garlic bread, a salad and two chocolate-cherry cannoli.
What could I say? I’d barely eaten anything since returning to Nocturn, and I was suddenly famished.
I was not looking forward to being in my empty flat (something I’d never had a problem with before, but now I was thinking I needed a cat, or a dog—no, not a dog, that might remind me of Hurley, so decision made…a cat).
I was looking forward to my spa appointment tomorrow.
And I was psyching myself up to let it all hang out with the girls on Sunday.
It wouldn’t be fun to share how bad it hurt that Tanyn just ended us and…poof! Without a word from me, we were done.
But I suspected I’d feel better after I let it go.
I had two RS agents leading. Two following. And there was a craft crawling along above us with two more agents inside it.
As such, beings I passed were staring at me, wondering if I was famous or something.
One could say, after the Midnight Masque, Aleksei was taking no chances.
Laura’s security crew used to be four beings.
Now it was eight.
One could also say Aleksei was pissed at Tanyn, even if he didn’t know what happened. Laura told him I was upset, and that was enough (he was such a good male, I was so happy for Laura, when I wasn’t feeling miserable about myself, that was).
Though, I figured it was more, and that had to do with him finding his mate, and being so deep in that, not understanding exactly how Tanyn and I didn’t have the same, so letting the female he considered Tanyn’s mate (me) go was something that Aleksei couldn’t abide.
My building sensed me coming, the doors whooshed open to welcome me, and I was glad of it. Now that I was home, I suddenly couldn’t wait to set up my ravioli. Snarf it down. And lose myself in some trashy screen.
But one of the agents in front of me threw his arm across my chest before I could walk in.
“Hold,” he grunted.
What in the realms?
He turned from me, scanning the space, the others were scanning the space, and the first one was mumbling, I knew into his earpiece.
After a while, he nodded his head to the others and to me, he said, “Go.”
Honestly, it meant so much that Aleksei was going all out, seeing to my safety.
But I was sensing this was a bit over-the-top.
Especially since I meant nothing to Tanyn.
Not anymore.
On this dismal thought, I walked in.
The agents came in with me.
I entered the lift (after they let me do that).
Two agents stayed downstairs, two agents came in with me.
We zoomed up to the penthouse (mm-hmm, I lived on the top floor with unobstructed views, I was a Truelock).
The doors opened, and two demons stood there, eyes red, alert, ready for action.
I tensed.
The agents didn’t say anything.
The demons didn’t say anything.
I silently freaked out and felt my demon rising, readying me to defend myself.
The demons walked into the lift.
And that was when I saw him.
Tanyn.
Standing in my flat.
Standing in my damned living room.
My stomach clutched, my heart squeezed, my mouth went dry, and even with all of that, I poured all my reserves into not allowing tears to hit my eyes because, Lilith, he was beautiful.
“It’s clear, Miss Truelock. You can enter the premises,” one of the RS agents said.
I looked to him.
Then I marched into my own damned flat.
The lift doors closed behind me, leaving me alone with Tanyn.
I walked to the open plan kitchen, my eyes never leaving him, his never leaving me (they were black and crackling with lightning, FYI—I, no surprise, was seeing only red), and I dumped my bag on the kitchen island.
After that, I turned to him and bit, “You have a fucking nerve.”
“Shut up,” he replied.
At his words, my brows winged up and my temper gnawed at my insides, desperate to be unleashed.
“Are you ins—?”
I didn’t finish that because with demon speed (that meant in less than a split second), he was in my space, my face, with my head in his hands.
“I said, shut up.”
And then I couldn’t not shut up.
Because he was kissing me.
It was not light. It wasn’t dry. It wasn’t coaxing.
It was hard, deep, wet.
And it pissed…
Me…
Off.
But did I push him away?
Hells no!
I grasped onto his hair in a punishing grip and kissed him back.
He tore my coat down my arms.
Since I had to release him so he could do that, once it was done, I used my free hands to yank his sweater up.
It was his turn to release me (mostly my mouth) to rip it off and toss it aside.
Our mouths collided so severely when we went back at each other, I tasted blood.
Maybe his.
Maybe mine.
I didn’t care.
It unleashed the demon in me fully, and I attacked.
My nails drew blood.
So did my teeth.
Tanyn wasn’t far behind, but he didn’t break skin. He just left marks.
It fed me. Thrilled me. Aroused me.