Page 45 of Shadowed Bond

This irritating, impossible man.

“I gathered that from the fact that I woke up in a hospital bed. Why are you still here?” I ask icily.

His mouth tightens. “‘Cause I want to be here?”

I roll my eyes and look ahead at the blank wall. “Well, I’m alive, so you need not worry. You should go shower or something; you look like hell,” I say, looking him over again.

He doesn’t get up, and I clench my jaw. “The mission is over. Go.”

“Yeah, Leo had Sienna close the tear not long ago. He said we did a good job.”

“I know we did.”

Just go.

But he’s not moving, this… arsehole! Who does he think he is, staying here?

The room falls silent, the tension thick between us. I swallow hard, staring ahead, hating how the bond is so obvious that I can sense every small move of his. I hate the pull; it’s almost humiliating.

This – man! He protected me beneath a collapsing tunnel, carried me to safety and is now sitting beside my bed and was holding my hand. But somehow, he still manages to make me feel unwanted.

Ares shifts in the chair.

“Charlotte,” he says.

My throat tightens at my name.

I hate that.

“Look at me, woman,” he almost growls. But I can tell by his standards he’s actually being polite.

“Why? I didn’t realise there was anything left to say,” I say, turning my cold glare onto him.

“Oh,” I say, keeping my voice cool. “So, now you have something to say?”

Ares runs a hand through his hair, then leans forward again, his elbows braced on his knees, his eyes locking with mine.

“Yeah,” he says roughly. “I do.”

I wait, crossing my arms; I refuse to make this easier for him. I have no idea what he wants to say, but really, he needs to just get it over with and leave.

I’m acting strong, but having him here after he all but rejected me hurts. It hurts a lot.

He looks at me like he would rather go back into those tunnels and do it all over rather than say whatever he’s struggling to get off his chest.

Then he exhales and runs his fingers through his hair again.

“Look. I thought a mate was a weakness,” he says quietly, his voice rough and low. “Something that makes a man easier to kill. I thought it would just make it easier to be brought down because it’s not just about protecting myself, but the need to protect someone else, no matter what.”

I say nothing. I don’t want to hear excuses, but still I listen, with an emotionless face as I hold his gaze. It’s not easy, as his aura has pretty much returned, making the intensity hard to ignore.

“But I got it wrong, Princess. You haven’t made me weaker. Instead, it’s as if I want to do better, be more careful, play smarter and be far less willing to die for anything stupid, because now dying wouldn’t just be my problem,” he continues, his voice softening. Something I didn’t even realise Ares Westwood was capable of.

And when the words slowly sink in, I focus on keeping my heartbeat steady, trying not to hope.

He looks away for a second, jaw clenched, and I realise how hard it must be for someone like Ares to admit this.

“Yeah… I was fucking afraid; you were right. Because how fucking strong the urge to protect you was… The desire to make sure nothing ever happens to you, it was intense. Since the bond snapped into place, my every instinct, my every thought is about you, and that’s fucking scary,” he continues. I can hear his heart thundering, but he still keeps his gaze locked with mine. “I thought that made you my weakness, but it doesn’t; it just makes me want to be stronger. It makes me more dangerous.”