The Fated Bond

A Gentleman

[Violet’s POV]

I stare in disbelief, trying to make sense of exactly what is happening while Lance stares at me, his expression easy, his smile genuine, and his face gentlemanly. Was he possibly interested in me, and was that why he came to my aid and was even offering to accompany me now?

No. Stop that right now, Violet. You can’t let yourself get caught up in your own insane theories. If you do, you will make yourself out to be a fool once more.

“Does your silence mean you won’t join me?” Lance asks, his voice easy.

“No!” I gasp, realizing how rude I’ve been.

As I speak, his smile broadens, and then he laughs, filling the room with a warmth that I’ve never experienced before. It’s comforting and warm, and it makes my heart and mind feel easy.

“I mean,” I continue, trying to stop the pleasant tingles I’m feeling from the sound. “I don’t mean no, I won’t accompany you; I mean…”

“I know,” Lance says between chuckles. “I suppose that I must have caught you off guard with my proposition, but I assure you that my intentions are pure.”

Nodding, I try to get myself together while wondering what exactly he was seeing. I could only hope that my long dark hair wasn’t a mess after having that coat on me and that my makeup, which I worked to make absolutely perfect for this day after crying the entire evening before, was still in place.

As these questions hit me, I peek toward the mirror beside me and take in the woman staring at me. She looks exactly as I remembered from earlier in the morning, but her cheeks and the tips of her ears are beet red. When I determine that I still look fine and won’t embarrass the man that is willing to waste his night on me, I give a small nod.

“Okay,” I say slowly, deciding to take a chance. “I’ll accompany you, but do know that if you try anything, I won’t hesitate to destroy that handsome face.”

Smiling, I lift a hand and let my claws extend, showing him that I mean business, and to my surprise, he laughs and nods calmly.

“Then shall we?” He says, holding out an arm to me. “Shall we get going, m’lady?”

“Sure.”

Not giving myself a chance to second-guess my choice, I am standing and then smoothing my dress before wrapping my arm around his.

“Let’s get going.”

Later, I find myself being led back into the large venue where the after-party is being held while everything in me screams to turn around and get going. Especially when gazes come to rest on me, clearly judging me because here I was walking arm-in-arm with Lance after suffering an embarrassing rejection earlier in the evening.

“Relax,” Lance whispers, his voice super close to my ear. “Don’t let them ruin your evening. Remember that your happiness is your own, and you can’t let anyone else determine it.”

For a moment, I don’t speak as I let his words wash over me like cool water that soothes the worry within me, and when my heart that had been racing only moments prior seems to calm, I’m smiling.

“Thanks,” I murmur, leaning in close while the others continue to watch me. “You know, you’re pretty good with making people feel at ease.”

It was something I noticed earlier in the evening when I was certain that Noel was going to run away from another wedding.

“Is it because you’re part fae?”

That was another thing that I could tell from the very beginning. He possessed typical features of the members of the fae, but he didn’t quite fit in with them.

“Could be,” Lance says, considering what I’m saying. “But I like to think that I’m just good with people.”

“Oh,” I say quietly, wondering if I offended him. “I didn’t…”

“You know,” he says, stopping me before I can begin to spiral. “You’re pretty good at second-guessing yourself.”

His words are like a knife that stabs into me, cutting me open so that the innermostpart of me is showing, and I find myself wanting to close it and continue hiding. What he was saying was something that I was more than aware of about myself, but to hear someone say it so openly was a bit…

“I suppose that came from being the child of a human and a wolf.” I admit.

As a half-breed, I wasn’t exactly accepted into my father’s pack, and because of that, my mother and I had to live on the outskirts of it. I would always remember trying to get everyone to accept not only me but even my mother, only for everything I did to not end up working. No amount of doing everything I was told, bending over backwards to make myself seem worthy, or the like would do anything. Because of that, I didn’t get to grow up with that pack mentality that so many like me got.

Maybe that was why I was always so willing to do whatever I could in a relationship, because I just so desperately wanted to be accepted, but even that didn’t work.

Oh no! I gasp inwardly, realizing that I was letting my own inner dialogue start to get me down when I should be happy and acting like a great companion.

“Sorry,” I say, focusing on Lance, who is simply watching me. “I didn’t mean to zone off after you asked me a question.”

“It’s okay,” he tells me. “But I’d like to hear more about your upbringing. You said that you were the daughter of a wolf and a human; that must have been rough. Like you, I grew up as a half-breed, and because of that, I wasn’t really accepted anywhere at first.”

“Really?” I ask, unable to hide my sudden excitement over meeting someone who was similar to me. “What are you mixed with? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m fae and human.” He responds easily. “My father was a member of the Unseelie Court, and my mother was a human.”

“Wow,” I murmur, surprised that the child of a member of the Fae and a human could even exist.

Given the amount of mana a member of the fae carried, it was hard enough for a human to even become pregnant, but on the rare occasions that it happened, they would usually die before carrying the child to term.

“Your mother must be an amazing person.” I say, my interest piquing. “Can you tell me about her?”

At my question, Lance’s gaze seems to take on a faraway look, and his expression seems to shift from easygoing to almost neutral.

“It’s not that interesting of a story.” He responds, but despite that, I can tell that he actually just doesn’t want to speak to me about it. It’s clear that he is putting a wall up, and it would be rude of me to even attempt to try to cross it. “Anyway, I’d like to hear more about you.”

“About me,” I repeat, considering his words as we make our way to a refreshment table and grab some drinks. “Not to use your words against you, but it isn’t really that interesting either. My life is fairly normal. Well, aside from having the worst luck in history in picking men.” I continue, deciding that this was a safe thing to speak about since he saw me make such a fool out of myself. “Actually, I was just dumped yesterday.”

Taking a sip of my drink, I find myself wondering why I’m even bringing up this topic when the sting of being dumped is still pretty fresh. However, as Lance gives me that look of understanding, I just can’t help but want to speak, to bare my heart and let out all the emotions I’m holding onto.

“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was dumped.” I sigh, downing my drink as if it’s some type of truth elixir. “More like I was cheated on, and instead of doing a damn thing about it, I just walked out like a fool.”

“That must have been tough.” Lance says, watching me intently. “But maybe that was fate’s way of saying that he just wasn’t the one.”

“Maybe,” I shrug. “Or that I’m just not meant to ever have a long-lasting relationship.”

“I’m sure that isn’t true.”

“I don’t know; all of my relationships until this point have been pretty awful. Maybe I should just get a cat and become an old cat lady now.”

“Do you really intend to give up on relationships?” Lance asks, taking me by surprise. “That’s a shame since I happen to be a matchmaker, and I can guarantee that I can find you the perfect man.”