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“Let’s fix that.” He folded his arms, suggesting now that the decision was made, I had to go along with it. “You bite me and we’re even. It'll be done, and we'll be together, and there'll be no more wolf shifters grabbing me in a bar.”

Sheridan tugged at his shirt, exposing the skin at the base of his throat. “I’m ready.” He took both my hands and flipped them over. “Your lifeline says you’re going to mate a human.”

I snorted, I couldn’t help it and told him it said nothing of the kind.

“I know us mating is fast, but I don’t care. This was meant to be, so why wait?”

And there was the thing I’d wanted since the first time I scented him. All I had to do was say yes.

“No.”

His smile faded. “I don’t understand. Why? You’re looking at me as if I asked for something impossible.”

I didn’t have an answer, or at least one that would make sense to him. If I tried to explain, he might agree that it was wrong, and I’d have to witness the light in his eyes go out and him walking away.

“I can’t.”

“That’s not a reason.”

He deserved the truth, but I couldn’t do it. “It’s not fair, I know.” He didn’t shout or pummel my chest, though it would’ve been easier if he had.

I didn’t remember the drive back. We didn’t speak even when we got out of the car and took the stairs. He stopped on the second floor, opening his door and shutting it while I stood in the hallway, helplessly, with my arms dangling at my side.

I climbed the last flight to the third floor. My dragon curled up, waiting for me to finish the second half of the mating process, even though I was never going to complete it.

12

SHERIDAN

Radley had said no. I offered him myself, and he turned me down. It didn’t make sense. He’d been happy I marked him. At least, I thought he was. But he didn’t want to mark me in return, despite calling me his fated mate. If anything, he looked horrified.

I tried to get him to explain. He wouldn’t, or possibly he couldn’t. I wasn’t sure which, but the drive home was freaking awful. We barely spoke. He followed me up the stairs and then continued up to his apartment as I put the key in mine. Now I stood alone in my empty apartment, wondering how we’d gone from the most magical moment of my life, meeting his dragon, to being rejected.

His dragon was stunning. I’d touched his scales, watched him, and saw all the scars that were on his human form were also on his beast. To me, that meant we were getting close, that the secrets had been revealed, and now we were ready to step forward. Apparently, I was freaking wrong about that.

I went straight to Pierogi’s hutch and opened it. I needed bunny cuddles.

“Hey, sweetie.” I sat on the floor. “I think Daddy messed up and scared away what could’ve been my forever. How messed up is that?”

Pierogi hopped over and up onto my lap and stayed as I told him everything as I cried.

The next two days were awful. I gave Radley his space. No good could come from pushing him into a corner and demanding answers. But, also, I was scared to bring it up again, because I didn’t think I could take any more rejection.

Work distracted me during the day, sort of. But when I came home, it was torture. Radley was directly above me. I could hear his footsteps as he crossed the room. I saw him at the mailbox and held back, waiting until he left before getting my own, only to feel guilty afterward. He wasn’t overtly ignoring me like he did before. At one time, Radley turned away when we passed each other in the hall, but now he gave me a nod or a hi. It wasn’t what I longed for, but it was something, and honestly, I wasn’t any better.

What really confused me was I’d already worn my mark, and he called me his mate more than once, and still he was rejecting me when I all but begged him to mark me back. This morning, I passed him when I went to work in the morning.

“Morning. Want to stop by for dinner tonight?” I asked.

To my surprise, he answered with a simple, “Okay.”

And now here we were in my kitchen, cutting up veggies like nothing had ever happened. Except it had.

“I didn’t like not seeing you,” I confessed, not looking up at him, still focusing on cleaning the spinach I needed to chop.

“Same.” It was only one word, but I held onto it for dear life.

“Is it worse for me since we’re fated mates and I already accepted you, do you think?” And maybe accepted wasn’t the right word, but I had marked him. And that was what that meant.