Page 169 of Fractured Fate

As a lowly human, Charlotte was a liability.

Steeling her courage, she slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the note from Aiden’s bedside table, tossing it on the table, open for Aiden to see the words on the page. “You all clearly know about this too, if you know about the rose,” she said, tone flat and accusing.

He cringed.

She turned in her seat, forcing him to make eye contact with her. He wouldn’t look away from her when he gave her the answer she needed. She needed to see the truth in his eyes. “Do you even want me in this world or not?”

He gaped at her.

“You never asked me to be part of this world. Never said that’s what you wanted. You’ve gone with the flow, accepting whatever has been laid out for you. You haven’t even told me how you feel about it.” Her hands tightened into fists on her thighs. “I’ve only heard the older adults like the headmistress tell me we’re soulmates, but I haven’t heard once if it’s what you want, or anything else.”

She shook her head.

“I understand the concept of it. The Korrena pairing. I don’t read the books Blaire and Riley do—video games are my hobby—but I’m familiar with the mythical world of true mates.” Her laugh sounded hollow. “Well, it’s not so mythical, after all.” She forged on, even though it looked and felt like Aiden was on edge. Something tingled at the edge of her consciousness. An uncomfortable awareness that felt a little dark. “I don’t know your feelings, and I’m not sure how you feel about all this.”

“You know I want you,” he said, voice hard.

“A lot of men have wanted me in my life. I’d be stupid to think you weren’t attracted to me, considering what’s happened between us, but your heart doesn’t have to be in it to…” Her gaze shifted to the others at the table, as if realizing they were still listening. “Well, you know.” She had gone on a tangent in her frustration and forgotten them. The varying degrees of surprise made her tense.

“I’ve told you about how I am with relationships.” His eyes tightened at the corners. “With sex.”

But was that really him or the Korrena bond? The more she learned, the more she wondered if the bond overrode his sexuality. He admitted to attraction before they had any form of emotional connection. It left her confused and unsure of his true feelings. He couldn’t be angry with her for that. Her concern was valid.

“I know that, but is it not the bond?”

“Oh boy,” Riley said, drawing Charlotte’s attention. “We went through this,” she said, glancing at Aiden with sadness in her eyes. Seth put his hand on hers on the table. “Seth hated the idea of a Korrena bond because he thought it was forced biology. We both almost rejected the bond when it presented itself because of it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Biology makes your existing feelings stronger, and makes it easier to fit together, but if your heart isn’t in it, it won’t ever develop.”

“The bond chooses pairs who are compatible and who fit together,” Dominic added.

Charlotte looked back at Aiden. He still looked mad, but she wouldn’t apologize for her worry. She said nothing that wasn’t true. She didn’t know what he wanted. He had said nothing. That wasn’t on her. Even now, he remained silent.

She repeated her earlier question. “Do you even want me in your world?”

If she had to pinpoint the look on his face, she would say he seemed offended, but his tone sounded furious when he snapped, “Do you realize what all I’ve done to keep you safe in this world?” His voice dropped an octave, a sharp precision to his tone that cut into her like a knife. “What I did to keep you safe before you even knew about this world, when we thought a human was stalking you?” His jaw worked as he ground his teeth.

His anger and resentment mingled with her confusion and insecurity, a potent cocktail of turmoil in her belly that turned into something poisonous.

Her nose wrinkled as she narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t mask her impertinent tone if she tried. “Don’t confuse your savior complex with a genuine care for me.”

Riley gasped.

“Aiden,” Lukas said, a warning in his tone.

Charlotte looked up into Aiden’s eyes. His shoulders shook with anger, his fist clenching and unclenching on the table as he stared down at her. His eyes flashed with a flare of glowing green at the edges of his iris. She looked at Lukas, not sure what was happening.

“It’s the bond. We don’t have the best control of our primal urges when it’s new or unsealed.”

She swallowed. He wouldn’t hurt her, would he?

Aiden jerked in his seat as if she’d struck him.

Seth stood abruptly and strode around the table to stand behind Aiden, grabbing his shoulders and holding them in a firm grip. He lowered his head. “Calm down. She didn’t mean it.”

“You both are feeding each other’s negative emotions,” Dominic said, his gaze moving between her and Aiden.