A court of Unshed tears

Chapter #14

Hey guys!
I'm soooo sorry for not posting for a while. I promise I will really try to get better at that. Also the spacing is different cause I just got a computer and it does it differently so the words look more spaced out than the other chapters. I'm just going to let it be... sorry if it bothers you. Anyway thanks soooooo much for reading! ❤️
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Tamlin swallowed the bite he took of the muffin and carefully set it down on the table.

His hands were shaking with the restraint not to close the space between them and touch her.

Because she was his...his mate.

By the Cauldron.

He had a mate, and it was Luna. The literal princess of darkness -that's what Ash called her- was his mate.

He had not broken eye contact with her. The searing moonlight of hers cut through the green forest of his.

And it felt so right. Like they had been destined to do this since the Dawn of time.

He was so confused. His body wanted to touch her to feel her, and his heart wanted to know her.

His mind was screaming warning bells, but they were being drowned out by the sound of her heartbeat. The Precious sound vibrating through his bones.

It reminded him that she was real— his mate was real.

He had never imagined— never hoped to have one...

Did he want one?

He secretly hoped he didn't have one if only to prevent him from having a relationship like his parents.

His mother loved his father without question even though he was a monster.

That was not what Tamlin wanted at all: he didn't want that life for Luna. He didn't want her to do everything he asked, to never have her own opinion. Never be her own person.

He felt his gut twist at all the uncertainty of the mating bond.

He didn't want this.

But here it was—- here she was right in front of him.

Moonlit eyes, rose bud lips, tanned freckled skin, and thick black hair, Tamlin was now dying to touch.

The princesses of darkness indeed.

"Princess of darkness?" She questioned with a crooked smile.

He let out a shaky laugh, feeling so relieved at the sound of her voice.

"Luna?" She looked up at him in awe.

As if he could make anyone in awe of him. She must just be dazed or something.

"Did we just," he cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the anxieties and fears That coated it.

He started again, "did we just mate?"

His hands were shaking so badly and Luna must have seen because she leaned across the table and took his hands in hers.

The touch made tears well in his eyes.

It felt like his whole life was absolutely nothing but a waste spent without this touch, without her.

He marveled in her hands— how small they were in his, but how perfect they looked.

"I think we did," she bit her lip as if trying to bite back the tears that now lined her eyes.

Cauldron, the longing in her eyes mirrored the longing in his heart.

It was devastating, and all consuming.

"Wha— what do we do?" He held her hands tighter.

She let out a little uncertain giggle that told him she knew just as much what to do as he did.

"I guess we should talk or something," she suggested.

He frowned at her saying in his eyes, as if that is going to fix everything.

"Do you have any better ideas?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

He smiled, for no reason he could explain other than he wanted to. He never had to ration or force smiles with her.

She stood up, releasing one of his hands and tugging on the other.

He followed her blindly, watching every step she took, studying everything about her.

She took him outside of the manor and into the flower garden, at the front of the estate.

She turned to him, "so we're..." she couldn't seem to finish her sentence.

"Mates," He finished for her and she nodded looking down and Tamlin just realized how much taller he was than her.

There was practically a foot difference between them.

"And I'm not super clear on the specifics," she looked back up at him, "but I kinda gave you food, so I think that we accidentally mated," she snorted.

"Yeah," he frowned.

She was his mate. She was bound to him forever. He couldn't think of anything worse than a life chained to him.

"Why would you think that?" Quite fury laced her voice.

Once again, he forgot she could read his thoughts.

"I—I," he stuttered not wanting to reveal the truth, but he realized he probably shouldn't hide anything from his soul bound partner.

"I imagine... I am very hard to love," he all but whispered.

She frowned.

It was true though. His father couldn't love him, neither could his brothers, and he could see the toll it took on his mother to love him.

"And," he continued, "I wouldn't want you to cage yourself just because you are my mate."

She nodded, and opened her mouth to say something but stopped.

And suddenly the beautiful world that only they shared, was crushed.

Tamlin sensed Ash and Amrenthana's arrival.

"I have to go," she backed away and he watched her wings appear.

She stayed for a second too long, she hesitated, looking at him like she would never see him again.

Though he was looking at her the same way.

She took off into the night sky and Tamlin watched her fly away.

It felt like one of his heart strings was being pulled taunt. Like she took it with her.

Each breath he took without her presence felt labored.

Gods, how was it even possible to be mated to someone you barely knew?

He winnowed back into the kitchen and cleaned up the rest of the muffins and his and trace of Luna's scent.

He also put up a shield around himself just in case her scent marked him.

If anyone knew Luna was his mate... Tamlin couldn't even guarantee his father would let him live because of the strong ties to night court he now held.

No, no one could know about this.

He winnowed up to his room, slung off his shirt, got in bed and closed his eyes.

Hopefully Ash and Amrenthana wouldn't demand his presence.

So Tamlin stared at his ceiling for the remainder of the night wondering why the cauldron chose him.

___

It wasn't just the cauldron that chose you my love. I picked you too. And if I lived a hundred or a thousand more lives, I would always choose you.