Siren's Mark

Chapter 23

𝔸𝕧𝕒

Our walk back to the car was surprisingly quiet. Zane closes his door and leans back in his seat with a heavy sigh. The sun has just set and his eyes are practically glowing in the dimly lit car.

"Are you okay?" he asks in a soft but tense voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine—really. You don't need to worry about me."

He pauses for a moment and turns to look at me. There's pain in his eyes and he cringes, letting out a loud sound that is a mix of a high screech and a low rumbling growl.

Every once in a while I forget he's not human and then he'll do something like that.

How do I even respond to that?

"Um," I say. "I don't really know what that means."

"Shit, love, I'm sorry," he says, burying his head in his hands. "That was very dramatic of me. I hate this... I'm sorry. I don't know how to be with you."

"In what way?"

"In any way... You're so... fragile."

Ouch.

"I don't know if I see it that way," I say.

"No, love, I don't mean like that. I mean, you're human. You can be hurt. Things can just happen to you and there's nothing I can do. It's just... how am I supposed to deal with this? I can help with the pain, but it's not the same as healing you. And now..."

He looks both angry and terrified, his eyes still a brilliant green.

"And now... what?" I ask.

"Now it's not just you being sick. Now it's random shitheads trying to hurt you when I'm not around. I can't follow you everywhere you go."

"I'm not asking you to. You don't have to protect me."

"I can't, Ava." His head hangs low, his expression defeated.

What?

He can't... protect me? Or be with me? I can feel tears flooding my eyes.

"No one's forcing you to be with me," I say.

"Bloody... Fuck... Ava, that's not what I meant." He grips his hair tight in his fingers and tugs.

"Just that I'm a burden?" I ask.

Might have just let my insecurities do the talking for me there... oops.

"Fuck, Ava, why do you have to do that? No!" he snaps. "I don't know how to let you go. I don't know how to let you live your bloody human life with your stupid, fragile human body and know that I can't be there to beat the shit out of every cockhead who lays a finger on the woman I love."

Uh... what?

What was that?

What what what what what what what?

As my brain tries to process his words, it's clear that Zane is processing them himself. His eyes suddenly widen and instantly return to brown.

Did he mean that? That he loves me?

"I uh..." he stutters. "I didn't mean to say... I mean... bloody hell. Can I try that again, love? I swear every time I talk to you I make a right arse of myself."

"Sure," I say, the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach rising.

"I'm sorry I'm not dealing with this well," he says, pausing a moment to grab my hand in his. "You're the one who's been through something and I'm having a fit. So, Sirens are beings of passion. We're known for being primal, led by our emotions, but I've spent most of my life fighting that. For a good reason. I've seen firsthand the kind of trouble feelings can get you into."