Soul Ties

Chapter 52: Golden Threads Stronger Than Blinded Love

"So you're in love with him?" Seren accuses me, leaning against the door frame but not making eye contact.

"No, of course not. It's the same as your relationship with Estella." I hate the way saying her mates name makes me feel. Like something tasteless yet disgusting is rolling around in my mouth.

She scoffs. "It's not the same at all."

"You're right. I didn't have sex with him."

She whips her head around to glare at me. "You did everything but. Don't stand here saying what I did was worse, Lynx. You basically gave yourself to that man."

She was right, but she didn't know how right she was. I couldn't get myself to tell her what had happened between me and him not too long ago. I didn't have the guts to paint the picture of him tasting me, even if it was only through my suit. Did that make me wrong? Yes. But did I regret any of it? Absolutely not.

Maybe being separated from Seren for so long had changed me in other ways I hadn't been prepared for. Why couldn't I stop lying? Especially lying to her. She gave me the chance to be open and honest and here I was avoiding the truth at all costs. And it wasn't even to protect her feelings. Moving my thumb over the grooves of Scorpius' name etched on my finger, I knew who I was really protecting.

"I didn't give my heart to him." But you might've, my thoughts taunt. The look in Seren's eyes tells me she's thinking the same thing. She pinches the bridge of her nose, most likely trying to rid herself of the headache this conversation has no doubt given her.

"So, what do we do now? You won't kill him and I won't hurt her, so where does that leave us?" she asks.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Saying what?"

"That you can't hurt her. You've continuously said the word hurt instead of the word kill," I mention. She turns her face back to the open door, staring off. It makes me upset watching her expression change every time she thinks of Estella. The softness mixed with the pain in her eyes makes my stomach churn and my heart ache.

"Because I can't. That was what Thysus gave to me, a protective bond over her so deep that the thought of hurting her physically makes me sick." She shifts her focus to the floor. "As much as I don't like it, there's nothing I can do to change it. And I'm sure if you're asking about it, than your mate is probably the one with the protective bond over you. Am I right?"

My mind goes back to what Scorpius had told me, the way Thysus claimed he would be protective over me. Back then I had just brushed it off, but should I have thought more of it?

"What do you mean?" I ask, my mind spinning around with so many thoughts.

Seren exhales, looking down at her pointer again like she's done multiple times since we started talking. I grit my teeth.

"The bond isn't like the magic of saying your mates name. It's something much stronger because it's one sided. Even now I'm worried about Estella. Because I'm not near her, every nerve inside me is on edge wondering if she's okay. And my instincts won't calm until I'm with her and can witness her safety."

"So, you can't stop thinking about her right now. Even though you're with me and you claim to only have your heart set on mine?" I swallow the burn in my throat as tears form on the corners of my eyes. This couldn't be happening.

"I know how that sounds, but believe me when I say it's nothing I can control. It's part of the tie," she claims, her lips quivering. "We were so out of our depth when it came to this mating thing, we just didn't know it yet. We thought we could defeat this because we believed our love was above everything else."