Chapter 924

But eventually her tears subside, just a little. And she quiets and stills. And raises her head to look into his face.noveldrama

His heart breaks to see the very real sadness there, and he lifts a hand, brushing at the tears on her cheek with his thumb, his eyes taking in the rough redness around her eyes, and the sweet, adorable freckles that dust her nose, and the lush, raw shape of her lips.

Jesse clenches his jaw as his wolf snarls, wanting her. Wanting her with a desperation that...

That is completely unfair. Inwardly Jesse snarls at his wolf, smacking him on his nose, forcing him to back down. His wolf grumbles but humbly obeys, working hard to deny his instinct to give Daphne the space she needs.

"Don't look at me," Daphne murmurs, embarrassed, raising an arm to wipe her nose and her cheeks on her sleeve.

"Please, don't ever ask that of me," Jesse whispers, running his hand over the tumbling auburn waves of her hair. "It would be the greatest regret of my life, to never look at you again."

But she flinches away, and he sighs, thinking...well, that it was the truth, but perhaps not the kindest thing he could say.

"I'm glad you're safe," she says softly, sitting straighter, putting some distance between them. "I was...worried about you. We all were."

"I'm fine," Jesse says, quiet. He reaches out, though, and takes her chin in his hand, turning her face to peer at her cheek where Midnight's claws cut her. "Ella patched you up?"

"Yes," Daphne says, straightening her shoulders and gently taking her chin from his hand. "Your whole family was very kind to me."

"Don't do that, Daph," Jesse whispers, shaking his head at her.

Her eyes flash a bit. "Do what?"

"Fall back on...politeness and courtesy," he says, giving a shrug. "We're - we're so much more than that. Please don't block me out."

She sets her jaw, moving back an inch or two, the little cat peeking out at Jesse from behind her. "Are we more than that, Jesse? I don't think we are. Not anymore."

"Of course we are -"

"I'm a seamstress at your school, Jess," Daphne snaps, saying the line she's rehearsed in case this day ever came. The thought she's said over and over to herself, to remind herself of her new place in his life. "You're a mated man. That is...our relationship now."

He huffs almost in disbelief. "Daphne," he says, leaning forward towards her. "That is...that is so not how I understand things."

She glares at him a little, her chin dimpling as her mouth turns down at the corners, and his wolf howls with regret to make her so sad, even for a moment - even though he knows she's endured so much more than moments of this.

"Stop," she demands, her shoulders set determinedly back. "It - a clean break is better, Jesse. Don't drag this out,t's impossible - however we felt before is impossible. And I don't think I can be your friend. I don't think I can...handle that. So. We can just end it there."

His wolf pants, desperate for that to not be true, and Jesse takes a deep breath, trying his best to stay cool.

"Daphne," he says quietly, anxious for her to hear him. "My situation is not what you think it is."

"Are you not mated?" she asks, tense and prim now, stern.

Jesse's wolf howls at how lovely she is when she's angry like that, but he works very hard and keeps his face completely serious.

"I have a mate," he says slowly. "But I have not accepted the bond."

She goes still, her eyes going wide. "Why not?"

“Because she's...it's very complicated Daphne. She's like a child - she's...a very traumatized person."

Daphne exhales slowly, closing her eyes. "So, does that mean you don't love her?"

He swallows hard, understanding that he's walking a very fine line here. "Midnight is very important to me. I care about her very, very much. But it is...not romantic."

Daphne stays still for a long moment and then nods once. "I think you should go."

Jesse sits up straight, appalled. "What!?" he nearly shouts. "Why!?"

She opens her eyes again, glaring hard, anger now the singular expression on her face. "Because you're about to ask me to be your mistress, Jesse Sinclair. And I might be poor, and unconnected, and uneducated - but I will not be insulted like that. Not ever, but especially not by you."

Jesse's mouth hangs open as he stares at the love of his life, completely shocked.