29. Twelve years too late.

It was like I froze in his arms. His words resonated over and over in my head but I couldn't make sense of it. I should say something, anything that will stop the madness around me. But all I could do was stare back at the gold in his eyes and come to the realization that I could no longer tell him apart from his animal.

"Don't deny it Amelia" he was saying "I know this is all so scary and new to you but I'll fix everything. I promise. All you have to do is say yes and I'll make sure you never regret me. I swear it will all be worth it"

He loves me. Me. How?

Wanting me because I'm his mate was as far as I thought he could feel. Love wasn't something I wanted him to reciprocate. If there could be one thing worse than me falling for him, it is him feeling the same. F*ck.

What am I going to do now?

"Tell me you want me too Amelia" he tightened his hold on me breaking my trance "Don't deny it" he demanded.

"I....what are we going to do now?" I'm so scared for him, for me, for the both of us.

My reply probably took him by surprise because it took him a couple of seconds to recover.

"Come with me" he answered.

"Where?" I found myself asking. I have lost my mind.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly "Wherever you want to go" he answered "There are five human continents to choose from"

"Live with the humans?" Don't don't don't consider it you stupid woman.

He nodded "They wouldn't know who we are. They wouldn't know what differentiates us. They wouldn't judge us. They wouldn't call us an abomination"

That sounds nice.

"Is that what you want?" Oh for the love of my twin! What am I doing?

"I want to be with you; with my soulmate" he replied "It doesn't matter where. As long as you agree to come with me, I might even consider the other two ice continents" his lips rose to a slight smirk.

"That's stupid" I muttered still out of my mind.

"I know" He smiled "Will you come with me Amelia?"

Do I want to? Yes.

At the cost of losing everyone else? No.

But if it's his life at stake......F*ck.

My family, my friends, my childhood, my memories......

"I know I'm asking you to leave your world behind for me. I know I'm asking for too much. But I promise this wouldn't be the last time you see them. We can tell them about us together. We can't come here but they can visit us"

He thought this through.

"Stop" I leaned my head against his shoulder "Stop talking for a second. I can't think right now"

His hand instantly came around me "I'm sorry"

So I stood there leaning against him, listening to his heartbeats as they raced.

"I don't want to love you" I finally said.

He tightened his grip on me in response. I realized he does that a lot, like he could physically stop me from leaving.

"You are trouble"

"I know" he said softly

"I am a sensible woman"

He hummed.

"I have always chosen who I want to fall for" I recalled "It was always the nicest, the sweetest stallion who would fit perfectly into my world. I looked at men and evaluated them before putting them into my list"

"You have a list"

"Yes. Every sensible woman should have one"

"Okay"

"If I were to put you on any of my list, you would top the 'don't you ever dare think of it' list"

He chuckled.

"I didn't want you to happen. I would give anything to go back to the moment it all started and undo it, maybe do things differently this time. But the problem is that I don't know when and where to go looking for the clues"

"Is it that hard for you to say you love me too?" he asked.

"Yes"

"I love you" he said.

"Shut up" I hissed "It's not that simple. My family..."

"I love you" he repeated "Once you realize it, it is that simple"

"I'm trying"

"Should I help you?"

"No"

"I love you Amelia"

"F*ck"

"Yeah we will get to that"

"Not if you continue announcing that to the world" I hissed instantly "You will be dead soon" I jumped away from him as soon as realization hit me "Spirit!" I almost yelled "Rhea" I forgot about her.

"Took you long enough" My head snapped to where the said woman stood leaning against a doorway with her hands folded against her chest, grinning "I let my coffee go cold for you and I didn't even get to see a kiss. You guys are boring" she tsked moving away from the doorway to walk towards us.

Spirit! I'm a home wrecker.

No wait. I didn't tell him that I love him. I didn't even kiss him. Does that count?

Doesn't matter. I still wronged her. She probably thinks I'm a horrible person.

Wait. What did she just say?

She made a show of walking around us to sit on the opposite couch "Please continue" she said raising her hands encouragingly.

"Oh! Shut up" Arthur retorted.

"What's going on?" I frowned hard at the two of them.

"You are stubborn Amelia" Rhea said "Just say the three magical words please. We are waiting"

"I don't understand"

Arthur pulled me to his side with his arm around my waist "Don't worry. She knows"

"Knows?" I looked up at him "That I am your mate?" He nodded "Since when?"

"Umm....always?" Rhea offered.

Always?

"You tricked me?"

"That wasn't my intention" she smiled apologetically "I just wanted to help"

"Help who?"

"Both of you" she answered "Arthur mostly"

"You are telling me that you knew before you approached me?"

"And me" Arthur added "She fooled me too"

I frowned "Why?"

"Her way of apologizing for what her mate did" Arthur answered for her. Of course her ugly rodent of a mate.

"But...." I can't wrap my head around it "Weren't you disgusted? I'm not a predator. And what if we didn't want each other?"

"I observed the two of you a while before approaching you"

"Great" I muttered "Another stalker"

Arthur snickered into my ear. I glared at him.

"I knew you both could resolve your differences if given a nudge" Rhea continued "And as for not being a predator, I had a predator mate, one my society approved of and look where it got me. Look what they did to me. They were mute spectators to the tortures inflicted upon me. As long as the laws aren't broken, our society doesn't care what you do. Your happiness is surely not on their mind. And if I did the same to the only guy who risked his life to keep me away from the monster, I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror again"

"Rhea..." Arthur began

"Arthur has always loved you Amelia" She smiled at me "He just never realized it because he was trying too hard to protect his heart. He's a good man and will take care of you with his life. Please trust him and take his hand"

Stop saying things I already know. I need negative motivation right now to not do what my heart wants to do. A dose of Sophie would be good right now.

"This is all too sudden" I muttered more to myself than them.

"No. It's twelve years too late" Arthur said firmly "It took us twelve years to get here. I don't want to waste another moment. Had the circumstances not forced us apart, you would have been mine a decade ago. I'm doing what I should have done twelve years ago. I was too young to handle things the right way. But I'm more than ready now. I can take care of you no matter how bad the circumstances get. Twelve years isn't sudden Amelia. All you have to do is trust me and I'll take us through this"

"I......" Don't panic. Don't panic. Breathe in. Out. "I....I don't want to hurt you either. I don't want you to go feral over me....."

"No"

I almost jumped at his growl.

"You don't understand" He gritted out "If I wanted you for the fear of going feral or slowly dying away, I would have marked you the moment I saw you or the years after. I know I made a lot of excuses to keep you close but if you decide to come with me to build a home of our own, it wouldn't be because you feel obliged to save my life. I deserve better than that Amelia"

Of course he does. He deserves a mate who would love him unconditionally and is as tied to him as he is to her. I can't give him that kind of love, that kind of devotion. Not at this moment.

"One day" I said "Can I get one day to sort my thoughts out?" He was disappointed. The gold in his eyes flickered. I'm getting good at reading him. I cupped the base of his face between my palms "I'll skip office tomorrow. I'll be home by ten. Meet me there. I'll be ready tomorrow. This is the first time I'm asking you to put your trust in me Arthur" He searched my eyes. I smiled back "Trust me. Can you do that?"

He put his hand above mine "I can trust what you are feeling right now"

I smiled "I almost forgot you could do that"

"Why else do you think I took so long to sweep you off your feet?" He smirked back.

"Yeah" Rhea said from somewhere "Kiss already" What is she still doing here?

"Yes Ma'am" Arthur tilted his head in a mock salute to Rhea "I need to seal the deal"

I chuckled and leaned forward for him to capture my lips midway. My toes curled involuntarily. I thought those only happened in fairytales. It's a strange feeling. So is the weakness that made my knees wobble. Arthur pulled me closer so I could lean against him. That wasn't such a nice idea because now added to the knee wobbling and toe curling; I also had to deal with the goosebumps that rose wherever he touched me.

I have officially lost my mind.

Yes. I'm going to fight hard for this man. I'm going to fight for the desires he ignites in me, for the dream of a forever he promises me. I don't care that he's someone I wouldn't be able to share proper meals with, that he's supposed to be my enemy by the laws of nature. I'm done fighting. I'm done pushing him away. I'm done trying not to love him.

________

Back up. Back. Back. Back. Three... four.... Five..... six...... There are six of them.

Sh!t.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

What the f*ck is my fourteen year old brother doing here? I'll have to keep it PG14. Not that there's anything PG here. It's funny though. Arthur's a virgin. I don't know why that thought popped up in my head in such a situation. I felt laughter bubble inside me at the thought of that.

Spirits! I think I need a shrink. The tension is making me lose my mind. I shouldn't be laughing. My entire family is looking at me like I'm about to announce my pregnancy. How can I forget my friends? Those two idiots are here too.

"Hi guys" I stood there looking down at them hurdled together on Harvey's couches.

"You are scaring me Amy" mom said. Dad maintained a stoic face.

"I....I have an announcement to make" Harvey glared at me. Sophie and Mia shared glances between themselves. Harold adjusted his glasses, gearing up "I...." I sighed. Their faces made me lose my courage. Let's try again.

"We are moving" Harvey declared standing up.

"NO" I growled "I'm moving" The words were out before I could stop them.

"Amy dear, we need to know what's going on to understand the situation" Mom looked between Harvey and I "I haven't seen the two of you fighting in a long time. What is it?"

"I...." I took a deep breath "I found a man mom. I am ready to take the next step with him"

Mia gasped. Everyone else held their breath.

"Isn't that a good thing Amy?" mom asked skeptically "When can we meet him?"

"He" I rubbed my palms together "He's ready to meet you guys"

"The hell he is" Harvey growled "I'm going to kill that bastard"

"Harv sit down" Dad commanded.

"Dad"

"Let your sister finish speaking" Dad said firmly "You will get your chance. We are here for a discussion. Tell me about this stallion Amy"" His looks told me he knew more than he was showing.

"Not a stallion" I mumbled under my breath.

"What?"

I cleared my throat. This is it "He's not a stallion dad"

It was mom who gasped this time.

"A human then?" Dad almost barked.

I shook my head "Predator. He's a predator"

_________