Page 58 of Rafe

“So you don’t even try? You just say, ‘it can’t be?’ Are you for real?”

“If this could be any other way, I’d want this, but the reality is that I’m a wolf. No matter what leftover vampire shit transformed me, I’m wolf. And wolves, we can’t mate with humans. You have to understand that once I lift this curse, I cannot be faithful to you, I cannot be your life partner or do like humans do and marry you. It will never be. My mate could walk into my life any day and⁠—”

“It’s not me.” She let the silence sit as she glared straight through him. She was for him. And she was no pick-me girl. She summoned a sense of calmness, gathering her strength, forced to accept the situation. “I’ve got news for you, Rafe. This has nothing to do with you being a wolf or vampire. It was your lie. It was the shock of being in that club, seeing you like that. Everyone but me knew.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “My whole life is a mess. And now that I’m back home, in some semblance of normalcy…you know, not being attacked by vampires or slimy zombie things, I’m good. This is why I didn’t go to blood clubs back in New Orleans. What you see here? This is who I am.”

“I’m sorry, Skylar. I should have told you. Everything.”

Though her sympathetic nature believed him, her heart didn’t care. No matter how much she yearned for him, for his touch, he belonged to a dangerous world that she’d long avoided.

“I’m not the man you thought I was. I’m trying to put my own life together. Before this happened to me, I had a family too. After I was first turned, I wished I was dead at times. The hunger still tears me apart from the inside out some days. All I know is I can’t go on like this and it’s not fair to you. And…” Sadness shone in his eyes. “I just want you to know. This is complicated. No matter how I feel about you, and I do have feelings, it won’t work. But I want you to know that I don’t think I’ve ever felt so close to someone. I’m not just saying that either. We literally just met a few days ago. I know it sounds crazy.” Rafe shook his head. “I sound crazy.”

“It’s not crazy. It’s chemistry. Science.”

“It’s fate,” he countered.

“Nothing supernatural about it,” she maintained.

“We’ll have to agree to disagree. For us, we believe in the magick of the universe. It’s as natural as breathing. I know it sounds crazy to a human.”

“Humans do the same thing sometimes. But it’s science not fate. We catch feelings. And we get it wrong sometimes. Sometimes you are really into someone and they’re just…unavailable.”

“I feel that way about you,” he confessed. A long pause of silence filled the air.

Skylar’s pulse raced. Her head spun with his contradictory statement.

“I’m not involved with anybody else. But I know the laws of wolves, and I’ll never be able to mate with a human. In fact.” He held up a finger. “My dear mother, Ilsbeth, tried to mate with a wolf one time. And it did not work. Sometimes wolves can mate with other shifters, but not witches. Not humans. It sucks.”

Skylar’s heart warmed a degree, attempting to comprehend the complexity of the situation. None of this was his fault. It just was.

“I’m trying to get rid of the vampire in me. It’s not natural. Ilsbeth says there’s a spell. She’s got a reputation, but she also appears to have a soft spot for me. Greyson doesn’t see it, but I do.”

“She’s not really your mom, right?”

“No.” Rafe laughed. “But I like to torque up Grey by calling her that. He doesn’t like her or the demon.”

“Demon?”

“Yeah. Thorn. He’s the well-dressed dude in the suit last night who appeared out of nowhere. Greyson’s not a fan. Anyway, what I’m getting at is me asking Ilsbeth to remove this curse. I don’t know if she really can or what it involves. It might be okay. Or it might involve me hanging over the pit of Hell. We’ll see.”

“Sounds fun.”

“You deserve better than someone like me, Sky.”

Skylar couldn’t argue. I deserve someone available. She wrapped her arms around her waist and changed the subject. “I’m sorry this happened to you. And I’m sorry you lost your family. It’s hard to be away from them. I get it. It’s why I’m here. But Mom and Dad won’t be back for few weeks. I’m sure by now they’re off to Portugal drinking red wine and eating copious amounts of cheese.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah. It does, doesn’t it?” Skylar sighed and looked to the ocean. “It’s going to be sunset soon.”

“It appears so. Maybe I should leave?”

“Do you want some tea?” She wanted so badly to throw him out. To cut it off completely. But her heart ached for him. Maybe we can be friends?

Skylar’s lips warmed as they drew close to the rim of her cup. With each breath, the steam heated her skin. Wrapped in a thick blanket she sat in a Muskoka chair stealing glances at Rafe who sat next to her, silently watching the sun fall.

She stretched her leg out in front of her, her body tingling with awareness as her foot brushed his. As if she’d touched fire she quickly tucked it underneath her. “Sorry.”

“I wish we’d had more time together,” he said.