~ RONAN ~

Is it a curse? Am I doomed never to be loved?

The question echoes through my mind as I sit on the edge of the guest bed, staring at nothing, my entire world crumbling around me like ash.

Fuck.

My life was finally starting to come back together. I had her. I had Roselle. I knew we’d wake up every morning beside each other, that I’d get to see her face, her smile, that beautiful expression she gets when she’s lost in thought. I knew that beautiful girl with the quiet strength who somehow managed to sneak her way past every wall I’d ever built would always be there with me.

I was willing to face the curse. I was willing to fight for us, to search every corner of the world for a cure that would save us both and destroy the obstacle threatening to tear us apart. I’d have burned down the entire Council if it meant keeping her safe. I’d have challenged the Moon Goddess herself if it meant protecting what we had.

I was looking forward to our wedding day.

To standing beside her as we exchanged our vows. To seeing just how breathtaking she’d look walking toward me in that gorgeous white gown she’d been designing. To hearing her voice her beautiful, recovered voice—speaking the words that would bind us together for eternity.

I’d pictured it all so many times in my head. Every single moment. The way the light would catch in her hair. The way her hazel eyes would shine with unshed tears. The way her hand would feel in mine as we sealed our bond.

So what the fuck went wrong?

What changed? Why did she suddenly look at me like I was a monster? Why did she say those things? Those cruel, piercing words that felt like daggers being driven straight into my heart?

She doesn’t mean it, Kael growls from deep within me, his voice rough and broken. She can’t possibly mean it. She loves us. I know she does. I can feel it.

But even as he says it, even as he tries to convince me, there’s a tremor in his voice. A crack in his certainty that mirrors the fracturing of my own belief.

I reach for the bottle of tequila I’d grabbed on my way to the guest room, one of several bottles I’ve been systematically working through over the past hours. I don’t bother with a glass anymore. The first bottle required some semblance of civility, some attempt at maintaining composure.

But civility is a luxury I can no longer afford.

I bring the bottle to my lips and drink directly from it, the liquid fire burning down my throat, searing my chest. It’s punishment and comfort all rolled into one.

The burn is nothing compared to the pain in my chest.

Nothing compared to the agony of her words replaying over and over in my mind like some twisted record player from hell.

"You treat me like I’m some gullible child."

"You’re exactly like everyone else."

"I don’t want you anymore."

"I want to leave."

Each word is a cut, each sentence a wound and they’re all bleeding at once, draining me of everything I am.

I gulp more from the bottle, welcoming the numbness that’s starting to creep in at the edges of my consciousness.

"She doesn’t love us," I say aloud, my voice hoarse and broken. "She never did. It was all a lie."

That’s not true, Kael snarls, and I can feel his agitation, his desperation to make me see reason. You’re letting the alcohol and the heartbreak cloud your judgment. She loves us. I felt it every time she touched us. I felt it in the way she looked at us.

"Then why is she leaving?" I demand, my voice rising. "If she loves us, why is she walking away? Why did she say those things?"

Silence.

Kael is suddenly quiet... and fuck... I’m doomed.

I take another long swig and slide down to the floor, back against the bed. I need more bottles. I need to get wasted. I need to forget this pain. I just... I fucking can’t.

I thought I was helping her. I thought she was in love with me. She laughed at my jokes. These past few months have been pure joy—more kisses, hearing her voice, planning our wedding, listening to her excited feedback about the dress. Then what suddenly changed?

When I told her about the curse, she had expressed her fears and I encouraged her. I didn’t know she had taken it from such a different perspective. To think she believed I only helped her so she would marry me in return... I fell for her. I fucking did. I was patient. I was going to wait. I was going to do everything it took to have her by my side.

Now she’s leaving.

The thought of her out there unguarded, unsecured, makes my gut wrench. "Warren could attack her. He could do something. And I won’t be there. I won’t be able to stop him. I won’t be able to save her."

The images flash through my mind—Warren cornering her, his hands on her, that sick satisfaction in his eyes as he realizes she’s alone and unprotected. The thought makes my blood boil. Rage floods through my veins like molten lava.

Minutes later, I’m down three bottles of tequila.

The world tilts and blurs at the edges, my vision fuzzy and unfocused. The room spins lazily around me as I sit slumped against the side of the bed, the empty bottles scattered like fallen soldiers on the floor. My head feels heavy, my tongue thick, but the pain in my chest refuses to dull completely. It just throbs hotter, angrier, refusing to let me escape.

The door creaks open.

I don’t look up at first. My head is too heavy, my thoughts too sluggish. But then I feel it — a sudden, violent lurch in my chest. My heart stutters, then starts pounding wildly, like it’s trying to break free from my ribs. A strange warmth floods through my veins, electric, cutting through the haze of alcohol like lightning.

What the fuck...?

I force my eyes open, blinking hard against the blur. A figure stands in the doorway. The silhouette is soft, feminine, bathed in the dim hallway light. My breath catches. Even through the drunken fog, something deep inside me pulls toward her. It’s overwhelming.

Kael surges forward with a low, awed growl that vibrates through my entire being.

Mate.

The word slams into me like a freight train. The mate bond. It snaps into place so suddenly, so powerfully, that it knocks the air from my lungs. My skin tingles, my blood sings, every cell in my body recognizes her on a primal, instinctive level I’ve never felt before, not even with Roselle.

I try to push myself up, but my legs are unsteady. The room sways. "Who...?" My voice comes out slurred and rough.