Chapter 71

Soren

The door rattles in its hinges, the windows and glass vibrating from inside its wooden case. A sigh leaves my lips and I close my eyes. I slowly inhale, filling my lungs with as much oxygen as possible.

I open my eyes and the door stares back at me. It is mocking, patronizing, and teases me that the one person in my life who fate has chosen for me to be with has shut me out once again.

I know that I haven’t given Celia much to work with when it comes to trusting me. I know that she holds plenty of grudges against me. I do not blame her, though, seeing how every choice I have made is my own and nobody else’s to make.

My fist raises up to the door. I knock softly. Three times to show her that I am still here.

I lean in and move my hands back to my sides, my fists balling. The anger and irritation I feel bubbles deep in my stomach but I continue to push it down as I let out a shaky breath, a small plan of action forming in my head.

I know that Celia does not react well to anger or hostility. It makes her want to run away and hide, to protect herself from those who wish to hurt her. My hot headedness needs to be put to the side instead of it taking center stage like it usually does.

After all, we did tell each other that we are in this whole predicament together. We are a team and not two individuals working beside each other. We need to be joined together as one instead of a fractured duo that can be easily broken.

“Celia,” I sigh into the wood of the door. I memorize the curves and lines, grasping onto it to keep myself grounded. “I’m…I’m sorry about showing up here. I hope that you can realize why I am here instead of treating me like I am one of your enemies.”

I pause. I lean in and press my ear to the door, trying to listen and see if there is any movement on the other side. I hear nothing. I clear my throat and lean back, shoving my hands into my pockets.

“I only showed up here out of concern. Bianca is still out there and I don’t trust what she has planned for us. She wished to hurt us and I can’t let that happen, Celia, you know that,” I continue to speak.

Am I an idiot for thinking that she is here listening to me? Am I dumb for thinking that there is a chance in hell that Celia, my fated mate, will give me the time of day after the way I have treated her for the past couple of years?

I treated her like a contract, someone who owed me a service just because I made her signed that damned dotted line. She is so much more than that. She is so much more than a substitute who was forced to the sidelines when someone else came into the picture.

Regret twists inside of my chest. I suck in a breath and hold it, staring at the wooden door.

“You know me. You know what kind of man I am. You know that I would never show up here, out of the blue, with anything but good intentions.”

The sound of my own voice is staring to annoy me. I can’t even begin to imagine how she must feel on the other side of the door.

Celia

Soren’s voice makes my heart twist and turn inside of my chest. I once thought that I was over him, that putting as much distance between the two of us would be the best thing possible for me.

Oh, how wrong I am.

My eyes fill with tears, my vision now blurred. I hold back a cry, swallowing it before it can leave my lips. I press my hands against the door and lean in, hanging onto over word that comes out of Soren’s mouth.

“Celia, you are not a political connection for me. You are not just a political marriage that will secure me more power or influence. I never wanted to make you feel that way and I am beating myself up over the fact that I have been so careless with the way you see yourself through my eyes.”

Does he mean it? Does he truly see me as a partner rather than a pawn that he can pluck and move as he pleases?

I don’t know if it’s true. I don’t know if Soren is feeding me hollow words filled with nothing but empty promises of a changed future. Of a happy life together.

“My feelings for you are true and pure. I have never felt this way about anyone…even before our fated mate connection kicked in, I held these affections towards you and nobody else. I think I tricked myself into thinking that Bianca was the one for me because I was scared of the idea of us being a viable future.”

I shake my head and press my forehead against the door. My flattened palms push into the wood, no sounds coming out to betray my closeness to the inanimate object.

Soren…I do not even know what to think. My mind is a mess of jumbled thoughts, filled with the endless possibilities of what can be.

Is this all one big trick? Has Soren been in contact with Bianca? Is this all one big psychological game that Bianca is waging against me? Was stabbing me not enough for her?

A piece of my heart knows that Soren’s words are true. I can hear the sincerity in his voice, the way it slightly cracks at the end of his sentences.

My brain, though, is screaming at me to stay away. It is yelling at me to remember all of the misgivings he has flung towards me in the past, the way he thrust money and dominance into my hands. I even signed a contract stating that I would leave the pack as soon as he married Bianca.

Soren wanted me out of his life not even a couple months ago. He wanted nothing to do with me but now he has followed me across his pack, swearing his loyalty and offering protection in the form of our fated mate connection and his control over the army.

I can’t bring myself to respond. I open my mouth to speak but no words come out, just a breathless mess of sighs and words left unsaid.

I slowly pull away from the door. My hands leave its body and I can no longer feel the slight splinters in the wood digging into the palms of my hand. I swallow the lump that forms in my throat, my gaze dropping to the door’s handle.

“I hope you’re there, Celia,” Soren’s voice makes my heart plummet inside of my chest. “And if you are…well…I will be waiting for you by the beach. I’ll be there until the sun sets. After that…I’ll be gone and will leave you alone for the rest of your life.”