Chapter 3: Down That Road Before
1482 Words
-Lucian-
I was surprised when she said my name. I had no idea who she was, but apparently, she knew who I was. I wanted to know how though. I wanted to know more about her. No, I wanted to know everything. She was my mate, and yet she seemed almost scared of me. Very guarded at least, and that confused me. I didn’t want her to feel like she had to be careful around me. I would never hurt her, and so I took a step back, giving her a little space.
“Well, you’re going to scream anyway. I want everyone to know not to interrupt us,” I told her, lowering my voice and eying her sweet pink lips.
She looked at me shocked, almost like she didn’t understand the hidden meaning behind my words. It surprised me. I made it so obvious, or could it be she had never had anyone take care of her needs?
“I think I will pass,” she suddenly said, and it was like she put a big wall up between us.
She walked past me, making me freeze for a moment. Never before had anyone said no to me. Male or female, but this one was completely unaffected by my charm.
“Wow, hold on,” I said and grabbed her hand.
She quickly pulled away from me, almost like I had burned her.
“Don’t touch me. Just leave me alone, Lucian,” she said.
“How do you know me?” I asked.
“You look a lot like your cousin, and you’re the only unmated male here. It is not hard to figure out,” she said.
“Yes, but someone must have told you about me, or how could you know my name?” I asked.
She sighed, shaking her head a little as if she was almost disappointed that I didn’t know who she was.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m Cecilia. Lara’s beta,” she said.
Oh! So this was the famous Cecilia! The one who had helped free Selene from Valerio, and who had helped Angela find the Spirituals, so Hunter could be cured. My mate was a beta? There had to be more to her though if she was paired with me. I was born to be an alpha, but sometimes people from different ranks were paired if their energies matched. It could be rather dangerous though, since one of them could abuse their power over the other. I wouldn’t, of course. As my mate, she was my equal, and I would always treat her as such.
“So, you’re the Cecilia I have heard so much about. Selene named one of her kids after you,” I said.
Cecilia nodded.
“Yes, that is me,” she said. “Now I’m leaving.”
“Wait!”
Cecilia stopped and turned to look at me again, but she looked rather unhappy.
“You can’t just leave,” I said.
“Yes, I can,” she said. “And I am going to.”
“We’re mates.”
She seemed shocked I would say it out loud, but instead of answering me, she just walked away, shaking her head. She walked into the hallway, and I quickly followed her.
“Cecilia!”
She stopped, her back turned to me, and I was unsure if she was just going to walk away again, but no, she slowly turned to me again, looking almost devastated.
“I know,” she said.
“Then how can you just leave?” I asked.
“Because I have tried this before, Lucian,” she said. “I have tried being paired with someone more powerful than me, and I am not doing it again!”
“Again?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, okay? I just … don’t want you,” she said.
“What?”
I stared at her shocked, but she could barely meet my eyes. She almost looked guilty, but I was feeling a little angry now. She was already rejecting me?! We had barely even known we were mates for more than five minutes, and she was already telling me she didn’t want me!
“You’re rejecting me?”
She shook her head, and it only confused me.
“No.”
“But you don’t want me?” I asked, confused.
“No, I don’t.”
“Sorry, but I am a bit confused here.”
“I told you, I don’t want to go down that road again,” she said. “You can reject me if you want to. I won’t say the words, because I know the pain they cause, but I won’t stay with you either.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“I told you why. This isn’t my first time finding a mate,” she said.
Right … there was a reason why she could tell Selene where to find the Spirituals. They had helped Cecilia too, removing her mark as well.
“And I don’t want to be thrown away again,” she told me.
“I am not going to do that.”
“Not right away, but when you get bored, which you undoubtedly will,” she said. “Then I will be thrown to the side.”
“You can’t possibly know that,” I said.
“Lucian, there are rumors about you, and you have got a big appetite. I don’t blame you, but I can’t … I can’t make you happy in every way,” she said.
“How can you know that, when you haven’t even tried?” I asked her.
She sighed and looked at the ground for a moment, before turning back to me again, and I could see the pain in her eyes, how broken she looked. She might have gotten her mark removed, but she had lost herself. It was clear as day.
“I put my heart into everything I do,” she said. “I put my soul into it, and I can’t take that risk of trying because I know what will happen.”
“You don’t know,” I said.
“But I do. I do know.”
“Cecilia …”
“Don’t … Don’t give me some long speech about why I should give this a chance,” she said. “I can’t …”
“Why?”
“Because I will fall in love with you,” she said.
I stood there shocked, as I heard her say those words. It was everything I wanted. Her love. I wanted her to fall in love with me because I could think of nothing better, and I knew she saw it in my eyes. She knew I wanted her love.
Okay, screw dinner. We are taking her right to the bedroom. No wait … Screw the bedroom, use the wall, the floor. She can be on top so she doesn’t have to lie on it! We are getting her to fall in love with us right now!
I almost wanted to laugh a little because I felt so happy, knowing there was no doubt my mate would fall in love with me, but Cecilia didn’t look happy. She looked scared, or … terrified.
“I’m sorry, Lucian, but I won’t put my heart on the line again,” she said.
“I would never break it,” I said. “I promise you that.”
“But you will … You’re an alpha, and I am done with those.”
She started to walk away again, but I was not letting her go so easily. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to me, so she ended up with her body pressed against mine. She looked up at me shocked, but then her eyes seemed to wander a little and soon they were eyeing my lips.
“You’re not done,” I whispered. “You’re far from done, sweetheart. We have just begun.”
She seemed to barely be able to breathe, as her eyes slowly met mine.
“I want you. Right now.”
She slowly shook her head and then pushed away from me, taking a few steps back.
“If you run, I will follow,” I told her.
“I told you, I can’t do it. Maybe with some distance, you could let me go,” she said.
I shook my head.
“No f*cking way.”
“It has to be this way,” she said. “You deserve better.”
I deserved better?! What the f*ck?! Cecilia turned away from me and this time she didn’t look back. She just walked to the entrance hall and disappeared out of the door. So, that was how my mate wanted to play? Fine, I would just prove to her we weren’t done.
- Writer
