Chapter 10

616words2026-01-19 04:04

"Okay, spill it," Mila demands the next evening, barging into my cottage with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "You've been avoiding everyone, you look like you haven't slept in days, and Ethan says Damon is walking around like someone kicked his puppy."

I sink onto my couch, too exhausted to pretend anymore. "It's complicated, Mila."

"I've got all night," she says, pouring generous glasses for both of us. "Start talking."

I take a long sip of wine, gathering my courage. "I met someone," I begin carefully. "Someone who... claims to be my mate."

Mila's eyes widen. "What? When? Who?"

"It doesn't matter who," I say quickly. "The point is, I can't be with him."

"Why the hell not? I thought you didn't believe in mates."

"I didn't. I don't. But..." I trail off, unsure how to explain without revealing the curse.

"But you felt it," Mila finishes softly. "That connection. That certainty."

I nod miserably.

"So what's the problem? Is he already mated? Married to a human?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just... there are reasons, Mila. Important ones that I can't explain."

She studies me for a long moment. "And Damon? Where does he fit into this?"

"He doesn't know," I admit. "About any of it."

"Oh, Luci." Mila sets down her glass and moves to sit beside me. "No wonder you're a mess."

The tears come then, hot and fast. "I don't know what to do. I can't be with my mate, but staying with Damon knowing what I know feels wrong. And if I leave with him to the West Coast, I'm just running away."

"Wait, what? West Coast?"

I explain about Damon's job offer, about his invitation for me to go with him.

"That would be one solution," Mila says thoughtfully. "Distance might help with the mate pull."

"Maybe," I say, though my wolf growls at the very idea. "But it feels like giving up."

"On what? A relationship you just said you can't have?"

I wipe my eyes. "I don't know anymore. I just know that everything hurts, and someone's going to get hurt no matter what I choose."

Mila wraps her arms around me, pulling me close. "Oh, honey. I wish I could fix this for you."

"I just want it all to stop," I whisper against her shoulder. "The pull, the pain, the impossible choices."

"Have you told him? Your mate? About why you can't be together?"

I shake my head. "I can't. It's... it's a family matter. Private."

Mila doesn't push, just holds me tighter as fresh tears come. "It's going to be okay," she murmurs, though we both know it's a lie.

"What if it's not?" I ask, voicing my deepest fear. "What if I end up alone because I can't have him and I can't keep lying to Damon?"

"Then you'll still have me," Mila says fiercely. "Even if you don't end up with either of them, I'll be right here. Always."

We stay like that for a long time, holding each other as I cry for what can never be—a normal life, a mate I can love without fear, a future without the shadow of the curse.

Later, after Mila leaves with a promise to check on me tomorrow, I stand at my window looking out at the night sky. Somewhere out there, Ivan is going about his life, perhaps thinking of me, perhaps wondering why fate would give him a mate who refuses him.

My wolf whines softly, a sound of such longing that it breaks my heart all over again.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to her, to Ivan, to the universe that has dealt us this cruel hand. "I'm so sorry."