An Unacceptable Mate

Chapter Thirty One

    "I'll leave you two," Inerra said, breaking the tense silence. I tried to tell him with my eyes that I couldn't be left alone with Acera or my heart would break indefinitely.

Acera wasn't even the slightest bit interested in me. He didn't care. He didn't want me anymore. Hell, I probably stank of Inerra which only added to the complexity of the situation.

The older brother spun on his heel, not meeting my desperate stare. Ought I run after him? I couldn't bear standing here, alone with him, as he radiated only hatred. He was probably going to kill me. Surely Inerra could sense it too. The utter dislike of my existence was palpable.

The door was pulled shut behind me, leaving me both without support and with the most intense silence I'd ever endured.

Then it struck me. Why hadn't Acera tried to stop Inerra from leaving us? Surely this was the most opportune time for him to attempt to be Inerra's downfall? After four hundred years of building up his revenge plan, surely he wouldn't overlook the fact that Inerra had planned to meet him. Where was the trap that would lead to Inerra's death? Why hadn't he attempted to even harm his older brother?

Insides aching with the suppressed feelings, I forced myself to lift my gaze and peek at him through my lashes for just a moment. The breath was knocked from me. Sincere amber eyes were glued to my face, searching everything about me from my torn expression to the way I now shook as I held myself. For a long minute, I couldn't look away and nor could he. I didn't think about how crazy this was or about how the last time we'd seen each other, he'd told me he loved me, vice versa.

    "Do you want to kill me?" I gasped in a flurry of words, squeezing my eyes shut, allowing some tears to escape the mask. My chest heaved with the restraint I was attempting. I wanted this to have gone so differently. I'd been a fool to even think he'd accept me.

I was answered by not a single word. My lower lip trembled and I quickly knuckled away the tears, nodding while I tried to swallow the lump of grief in my throat. "That means yes," I told myself.

And then I was turning away, blindly reaching for the door. My face burned and my cheeks were hot and sticky from the tears. Every cell trembled with the realisation that Acera was never going to touch one of them again or kiss or brush or tease.

        "I thought you never ran," he called, voice breaking. He sounded closer than I'd expected. Who was I kidding? I had to stop imagining with hope. I had to face the facts.

    "You seem to give me exceptions to that rule," I croaked. He didn't speak. He was making this impossible for me to just forget.

But I had to.

I inhaled shakily and then grabbed the golden handle of the door. Just as I was about to twist it, a cold, pale hand folded over mine, bringing every inch of me to life. The grief vanished, replaced with curiosity and lust. It was like I'd finally breathed some fresh air after being in the polluted city for so long. Too long.

His other hand was on my waist, sliding round my front to rest on my right hand side. I could hear him trying to keep his breaths controlled, but when he pushed me against the door so that his front was pressed gently to my back, we were both shuddering. My heart thundered in my chest and I was certain he could hear it.

    "M...make it quick," I begged breathlessly, closing my eyes. If I was going to die, at least it was by the hand of someone I was so totally in love with. Yes. I'd rather have my life ended like this.

He pressed his nose into my hair and inhaled, body going rigid. It reminded me of all the times he'd take in my scent and how it would drive him crazy. But this was different now. Now he was tasting his prey. His lips skimmed over the shell of my ear and then down my neck. He wouldn't kiss me. Of course he wouldn't.