Chapter 28

Arthur was certain there was envy on Daphne's face. When she talked about Blade and Mamie’s love story, he could tell she thought it was a romantic story. Her voice seemed to be a bit longing as she spoke about it. Admittedly, Blade and Mamie’s story was romantic, but the emotion he felt was more of chagrin and anger.

Why would Daphne envy Blade and Mamie? Because they have something that Daphne did not have? Because she couldn’t love him? If she loved him, she wouldn't be envious of other people's relationships.

Who was he kidding? He might be royal, but it was a curse as far as he was concerned and who could love a madman? Having a mate may make him able to control himself more, but it meant nothing if it would make Daphne miserable.

Arthur's heart sank to his stomach, and Lucas let out a growl of pain. Their mate didn't love them. He was almost certain that she would never find a way to love them either.

He hadn’t even realized he’d asked the question until she seemed stunned.

Her expression was of shock. Her eyes were blank and he was sure that the fear would start surfacing soon. He was always scaring her. He shouldn’t have asked. He should have more control. This was exactly why she couldn’t and wouldn’t love him! How was she supposed to love him if she was always scared of setting him off?

He didn’t know if he could tell her, honestly, that he’d never hurt her. The best he could do was to say that he would never do so intentionally, and he knew that wouldn’t comfort her in the least.

“Sorry,” Arthur said. “I didn’t…. I shouldn’t have asked that.”

Her cheeks flushed as her jaw trembled.

“Oh, I…” Her voice trembled, but it didn’t seem fearful so much as nervous. “Arthur, I do like you.”

It eased a bit of the sting of rejection, but not all of it. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even really acceptance, but he supposed it was the best he could hope for. At least she wasn’t flat out telling him that it would never happen.

“Right, I—”

“You saved my life, we've been through a lot together, and I'd die to save you if I had to—”

Arthur jumped up, “I don't need you to die to save me!”

He shuddered at the thought, “If it ever came to that, I’d prefer to die.”

“But Arthur—“

“No,” he shook his head.

Daphne clenched her hands in her dress and frowned at him, confused.

“But… But I'm human, and you're a werewolf...”

He frowned, not understanding what she meant. Sure, it was more likely that she would die if something were to happen, like an attack, while they were separated, but if they were together, there was no way she would end up dead before him.

Even if it was Owen, he’d have to kill Arthur first to ever get a chance at Daphne.

What did her being human have to do with her sacrificing herself for him?

“I don't care what you are,” Arthur huffed. “You're my mate!”

“But I don't feel the connection you're talking about!” Daphne threw up her hands with a little wail of frustration. Arthur frowned, looking at her.

He wanted to ask what she meant, but she huffed and her shoulders slumped before she spoke. “Sure. The bond does work, but I'm only human! I don't get to feel like you do, that you're my fated mate. I didn’t fall for you at first sight! I can't... Werewolves are too powerful, and even though I have a good life here, I still feel different than everyone else! There is no way I can...”

She sniffled, her eyes burning as the tears started to fall down her face. She turned from him, covering her face as the emotions she had been ignoring started to overwhelm her. She tried her best to live in this pack, to take care of Arthur, to take care of herself, but it was so hard. She was just a human and everything was so different. Everything was dangerous, and if she wasn’t careful she’d end up dead!

When she thought of how much Mamie had seemed to want to explain what being a mate for a werewolf was like, she didn’t know what to say. She knew she’d be sad if Arthur died, but she didn’t think she’d lose her mind or consider suicide. To hear that he would either become a vicious monster or kill himself if something were to happen to her was horrifying.

He’d already been hurting himself after just trying to tell her to stay away from him when he was losing control!

“Arthur, I…”

Light flickered in her peripheral, and she looked at Arthur finding him standing beside her in his human form. He was so handsome, yet the streaks of blood across his chest and face added a feral feeling to his attractiveness in the darkness.

The scent of blood made her tremble, but the worry and guilt in his eyes eased her fear. Arthur killed, but beyond that, he was a good man. He’d shown her that every time he got happy over such small things and every time he made such an effort to be good to her and control himself. She liked Arthur, partially because he was the only person should rely on in Sharp Armor. She doubted she could fall in love with anyone else because of their mutual reliance upon each other, but could that really be called love?

Fear gripped her, thinking of all the time he would remain out late after the patrol had returned, giant wolves losing themselves to bloodlust, and waiting with the same anxiety night after night. She feared Arthur, and how could she not, knowing how dangerous he could be? She had no way to defend herself against him or anyone in Sharp Armor because she was just human.

Daphne needed Arthur to protect her from everything in the life they’d begun to build in Sharp Armor, but Arthur didn’t really need her.

It didn’t even seem as though he trusted her enough to tell her what’s been bothering him, and she couldn’t trust that asking again wouldn’t set him off.

Their relationship was not equal no matter how she looked at it, and she didn’t know how she could make it even.

A werewolf and human could never stand on equal footing. It was impossible!

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I didn't know, I...”

Arthur could not be angry. He almost felt guilty about getting upset with her and in turn upsetting her. Daphne was a strong and intelligent woman, but she was also vulnerable. He could only imagine what was going through her mind and how she’d been feeling since he’d taken her away from her little cabin in the woods. A pang of guilt went through him. If they hadn’t met, she would still be there. She probably wouldn’t ever have been found by werewolves if Arthur hadn’t led them to her door.

He wanted to apologize for it all, but he didn’t think there were enough words to do so. He wanted to hold her, but the blood and dirt that was streaked across his body held him back.

Instead, he cupped her face, drawing her closer and wiping her tears away.

“Don’t cry, my love…”

Daphne let out another sob before looking up at him, sniffling. “What should I do, Arthur?”

“Could you love me, Daphne?” He pleaded. He had never pleaded with anyone before, but there was nothing he wouldn’t do for Daphne. He could endure everyone's rejection and disgust. He could live like a monster. He didn't need anything, except Daphne. “Could you give me a chance?”

Daphne gasped, shaken and shocked. Her heart said she could and did love him, but her mind knew better. Could she really love Arthur? She knew she was still afraid of him, and even if she said yes to him now to appease him, she might disappoint him in the future. She didn't want to be so irresponsible. Arthur deserved honesty and care.

So what could she say? She dropped her gaze to the ground, thinking about it when she saw a few stones on the ground and got an idea.

She pulled back and kneeled to collect five stones. None of them were special, but she held one out to him. He opened his palm and allowed her to place one in his hand.

“Each of these is a point,” Daphne said. "You get one today because of your consideration for the baby.”

Arthur curled his fingers over the rock without breaking eye contact with her. She felt as though he was trying to say a million things that she wasn’t ready to hear, but she understood them.

His expression turned resolute.

“I'll accept you when you've earned all five points.”