so I had to put up with it.” She chewed on her straw. “But it doesn’t matter if you’re destined to be together if it’s at the wrong time, or if you can’t work out your differences. I wanted him to change, until I realized if I wanted things to get better, I had to be the one to end the relationship. Leaving him was the most painful thing I ever did, but it was the right thing to do. No amount of fate can bring you together if your mate is determined to break you apart.”
There was pain in her words, but not as much as I expected. It was like she’d moved on. “Ethan and I don’t have those kinds of problems,” I said. “We just… can’t get along.”
“And that’s okay to admit. He doesn’t have to hit you or verbally abuse you for the relationship to be wrong,” Amantha said. “There were more good times with my mate than there were bad, but the bad things overshadowed our love. It got to the point where the magic just wasn’t enough.”
I felt that. I felt that hard. For as much magic Ethan and I shared, the shadows that loomed over our relationship suffocated all the love. It wasn’t even about the secrets anymore. At this point in time, we just weren’t good for each other. “I want our love to be enough, but I get what you’re saying. What point is there to reviving something that’s already dead?”
“Do you have a better relationship with Finlay?” Amantha asked.
“In a way.”
“But he’s not Ethan.”
I gave a heavy, long sigh. “No. He’s not.”
“I care about you, Emma. I want what’s best for you.” Amantha took my hand and squeezed it. “If you’re considering breaking the bond, that’s a big sign things aren’t meant to work out.”
Tears rose to my eyes. I choked them down and said, “You think so?”
“Maybe. But don’t do it until you’re ready to give up.” Amantha gave me a kind smile. “It took me ages to get over my mate, but I moved on. You have your friends, and school, and you have skating. Eventually, your heart will mend. And there will be someone else there to fall for, I promise.”
I wiped my eyes with the heel of my hand. “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.”
“Anytime.” Amantha sipped at the rest of her slushie. The double doors to the rink slammed open, and I gave a start as Lady Magdalina swept into the rink, cheeks pink and her hair windswept.
“I apologize for the delay, Emmaline,” Lady Magdalina said as she stopped at my table. She looked down at my tennis shoes and said, “Why on earth don’t you have your skates on? Let’s get to work, chop chop!”
Amantha waved as I headed back to the locker room. I got back on the ice, but Lady Magdalina seemed distracted my entire practice.
To be honest, so was I. I kept going back and forth in my head between my two choices. Ethan, or Finlay?
Finlay seemed like the reasonable choice. If I was with Finlay, I could get my reputation back with the pack. I’d be accepted into the wolven Faction again, and the press would forget all about me. They’d lose interest and find someone else to harass.
Finlay checked off all the boxes I had. He was strong, brave, and kind. He was everything I wanted in a partner. On paper, we made sense.
So where was the magic? Despite the connection Finlay and I had, it was nothing like the bond I shared with Ethan. Being with Finlay was easy, and being with Ethan had been frustrating as all hell. Weren’t relationships supposed to be easy if they were good?
I liked Finlay. I liked him a lot— I could even grow to love him, in time. And it wouldn’t take very long. A few more months of dating and I’d fall for him hard, I was sure.
But I’d never love him like I loved Ethan, and that was the problem. Since I’d first looked into his eyes, I’d thought Ethan would be the only one for me.
Yet Ethan was almost gone. The man I knew wasn’t there anymore. The demon had swallowed him up, leaving only a phantom in his place. How could I continue to hold on to a shadow, hold on to a person who had all but ceased to exist?
Hoping, wishing, and praying wouldn’t bring Ethan back. We’d tried everything, and failed every time. So