“I’m sorry I’m not a better date.” Imara lifted her cheek from Haldir’s chest and rolled her teary eyes up to the ceiling. “I thought coming here tonight would make me feel better.”
His lips pushed out as his shoulder lifted to his ear. “It’s alright, kiddo. I could tell you needed a break.”
Like a hand pulling her closer, she felt someone’s eyes on her, and when she peeked over Haldir’s shoulder, she hoped it would be Ben standing there instead of the blonde-haired man at the bar.
Every rejection from Ben made her hate herself a little more, and when the man-made his way to them, she sighed away the last bit of pride she had and gave him a smile when he tapped Haldir’s shoulder. “Excuse me. Can I cut in?”
Before his eyes met the handsome stranger’s, Haldir glanced to the balcony and nodded. “Absolutely.” As the man moved into his place, Haldir patted his shoulder, and his eyes dropped to Imara. “I’ll be at the bar if you need me, Sweet Girl.”
Haldir dropped onto the barstool and kept an eye on the unfortunate man wrapping his arms around Imara. He grabbed a handful of nuts from the counter and shook them in his hand as his eyes rose to the balcony. “I warned you, boy. Now, get angry. Let it fill you up and burn you. That’s the only way we’re ever going to beat that son of a bitch.”
“My name’s John.” He threaded his fingers through Imara’s hair as his other hand slid down her back.
“Imara.” She reached around and grabbed his hand, then shook her head no. “But I’m taken, sir.”
John’s hand moved down her back again, and the whole room vibrated from the rumble in the Lycan’s chest. The dangling crystals of the chandelier above them tinkled as they beat together, and Imara lifted her eyes to follow the noise and found her husband leaping from the balcony. He landed crouched on the floor before her, and his eyes flashed their warning.
Frozen in the trance of her lover’s black eyes, the tremor began in her fingers, and her knees shimmied as she tried to free herself from John’s grip. Whispers of his mate buried deep inside her unconscious mind whimpered out to him. ‘I’m sorry.’
His hair lifted from his shoulders as his anger filled the room with a hot blast of fury. Old dark boots beat against the smooth marble dancefloor, and when his neck wrenched sideways, it sent John skating across the floor on his ass.
The only thing Ben saw was Selvin as John ran at him. With a yelp that came from the pit of his desperate soul, his arm swung, and John’s nose exploded into a crimson splatter. In an instant, he straddled John and his fist pummeled the bloodied man until an arm wrapped around his chest. “It’s done.” Haldir yanked him from the wounded witch below him and patted his fingers against the Lycan’s racing heart. “You did well.”
He beat the soaking backs of his hands on his pants as he scanned the room for his mate. “Imara?”
Flaring nostrils lifted into the air and caught her scent, then he twisted on his toe as he raced out of the ballroom. “Imara!” With no trace of her in the hallway, he shouldered his way out the front door and found her crossing the park alone. “Imara!”
Dodging cars, Ben sprinted across the street, then spun his wife around by her arm. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Buried in his chest, she sobbed against him as she gripped his waist. “Why are you doing this to me?”
He combed his fingers through her hair while he kissed her forehead. “I’m just keeping you safe. You have to trust me.”
The heels of her hands pressed against his chest as she shook her head. “What kind of game are you playing with me? Is this your idea of fun?”
Ben bit his lip and looked off across the park as he tried to think of some way to comfort her, but his silence spoke volumes to his mate. Her lips quivered in anger and confusion as she backed away, and she held up a finger as she laid one final warning at Ben. “This is insane. If you don’t want me, then stay away from me. Stop making me feel like we have a chance, then ripping it away. You’re killing me.”
He couldn’t move or breathe until Haldir slapped him on the back. “It’s time for you boys to tell her the truth, Ben. Just look at what you’re doing to her.” His hand fisted the collar of Ben’s shirt as his other hand pointed at the woman running away. “That’s your wife, the mother of your child, for Christ’s sake.”
The sting of the beating he gave the man at the Order spread through his knuckles, and Ben glanced at his bloodstained hands. “She doesn’t need to remember any of that. I won’t do that to her. I wish to hell I could forget.”
“Do you, though? Would your life be any better if you’d never met her?” The Viking’s hand gripped the back of his neck and led him down the walk.
“No. Of course not.” His hand broke the seal on his neck and pushed Haldir away. “That’s not what I meant. Having Imara and Eliza was everything. I didn’t even know what I was missing.”
The Marlboro Haldir had to rest on his ear slid between his fingers before he shoved his hand in his pocket, looking for his lighter. “But you do know. You have the memories of your life together and all the good times to balance out all the bad. Imara, she’s only got memories of a life of running and hiding and a mate that won’t love her.”
The flame flickered under his nose as Haldir puffed back the first drag, then snapped the lighter shut. “All she knows is the bad, Ben. You need to let her have her memories and help her deal with the grief. The longer you let that build up inside her, the more explosive it’s going to be when she remembers. Your actions are fucking that kid’s head up more than any goddamn curse ever could.”