She couldn’t understand what to make of the expression in his eyes, or the way he was looking at her.
“Isabella… it’s happened many times with me,” he said, his voice low and steady. “When they learn about the curse, some try to take advantage of it. But I know better than to believe their lies. I don’t have a mate… because I can’t.”
Isabella’s heart sank. Her last hope of him accepting her as his mate seemed to die in that moment. If she tried to tell him that they were fated mates and that she had felt the bond after turning eighteen, he would probably think she was scheming, trying to lie to claim him.
When he noticed Isabella suddenly fall silent, he tucked a finger under her chin, lifting her head so she looked at him, even as her head still rested on his broad chest. “Are you upse
