Reign of Blood

Chapter Twenty-One

His change would be upon them soon. It couldn't be long now until the effects of the full moon hit him.

And yet he couldn't force himself to think about it.

His mind was playing on what she'd told him.

Obviously, she'd had some sort of encounter with his people all those years ago. They'd hurt her in some way, damaging her worse than she'd ever been hurt. The problem was that Annaliese wouldn't tell him.

The Queen didn't do the whole opening up thing. She'd only done it now with the fury having gotten to her.

Her words had left him quaking.

His mate genuinely thought of him the same way she'd thought of the prior King, Sylvester.

Everyone had heard of that man's thirst for blood. He wasn't the type of King whom one wanted to follow. He was sick and twisted. For someone of the Other World, that was saying a lot.

But Chronos had heard the rumours, and he knew about his mate's past. She'd told him what that bastard had done to her Mother—and now she wanted to say that Chronos and him were one and the same.

He wouldn't stand for it.

Chronos wasn't a good guy by any means—but he wasn't like him. He'd never be like him.

He needed to break this tension between them before the moon got a hold of him. Because- oh mother of God.

She was crying.

Annaliese the great and powerful was crying. He couldn't see the tears on her face because she wasn't looking at him. She refused to. But he knew what that heaving of her shoulders meant.

She was crying because he'd made her cry.

He'd spent so long now waiting for her to crack- to see that she could feel emotions- for this?

He wished he could take it all back. If she turned and showed him those tears, she'd break his heart.

"Why is it that you don't want a mate?" She asked, still not turning. He could hear her sharpening a knife.

She was distracting herself. She'd let him talk to take her mind off of it.

Chronos was no emotional genius, but he knew this probably wasn't the best way for her to deal with her problems.

He felt like an arse.

"Are you sure you want to hear this?"

She laughed bitterly. "I'm not fragile, werewolf. I wouldn't ask you the question if I didn't want to hear the answer."

"Alright then." But he knew she wouldn't like it. "I like my freedom."

"Is that it?"

"Having a mate means I'll lose that freedom."

A second of silence was spun between them until eventually, Annaliese interrupted it with her snort.

"You find that funny?" Her amusement had his hackles rising.

"Werewolf, you've had your bachelor freedom for the better part of 1500 years. Get over yourself."

"I'm not eager to lose it."

"Is that what you think a healthy relationship entitles?" She shook her head. "In a healthy relationship, you gain more than you lose."

"Said by the scholar herself. I'm sure you know plenty about relationships."

"Relationships don't have to be romantic. I have plenty of platonic relationships. With Seth, I can be myself. With Evette, I can open up my heart."

But she couldn't do the same with him.