The Darkest Temptation ✔️

EIGHTEEN

Word Count: 1907

~Tove

Keo hasn't returned. It's been days.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. I'm cold, but I don't want to get out of bed to close the balcony doors.

Keo is my mate. This isn't a nightmare, it's real...

Rolling over, I stuff my pillow over my head. What am I going to do?

The past few days have been me mindlessly wandering between the bedroom and the kitchen. I can't tell if I'm awaiting Keo's return, or dreading it.

Either way, I haven't been able to bring myself to leave and return to Territory One.

The slanted rainfall drenches part of the wood floor of the room, the curtains billowing around wildly. I'm miserable...

I can't be mated to Keo. I just can't.

It's not like we can sit down and talk like a normal couple. We can't go out on dates, or sweet walks, or anything else that's average for mates.

He's a murderer. He's shady, he lies and he keeps secrets. He manipulates, and he hurts people, and was likely planning on killing me.

He may still. Or he may never return.

It's clear he doesn't want a mate. He has other priorities, that's clear. I wouldn't have even found out he's my mate had I not come to his bedroom late at night and kissed him.

He wears gloves for a reason. He has no intention of making a life with me, even if I wanted to.

A shadow shifts along the floor. With a yelp, I sit up, looking toward the doorway to see Keo standing there, watching me.

I rest my hand against my chest, feeling it rise and fall rapidly. "Woah. Keo..."

He looks terrifying, standing there amongst the darkness, dressed in all black. It's the middle of the night, and he's suddenly shown up...

"You scared me," I breathe, when he doesn't speak.

He remains silent, not moving. A flicker of lightning strikes the room, a crack of thunder loud enough to make me flinch following shortly after.

"You left without a word and now you're here in the middle of the night. Seriously?" He shouldn't have left. Even though this isn't something either of us expected, he should have stayed and spoken to me.

He walks a step closer. "You're my mate."

"Obviously." Come on. Talk to me.

He takes another step, the minimal light in the room catching his face, accentuating his features. I suppose I am mated to one of the most attractive people to walk these lands, even if they are cruel to my kind.

"How is that possible?" He asks breathily, as if this were all a set up by me.

I shake my head, sitting up straighter in bed. "Trust me, I wish I knew. Nature is cruel."

"This can't happen." He stands a couple feet away from me, as if getting any closer would make the mate bond truly real.

There is no escaping this...it's as real as the storm raging outside.

"Am I that terrible?" My heart hurts, like he's punched me.

His gaze softens as he steps closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. He looks so vulnerable, stripped bare of the façade he constantly wears.

This is the closest I've ever gotten to seeing the real Keo.

"This isn't about you, or your worth as a mate," he explains slowly, allowing me to absorb every word. "It's about me."