Fae Fiefdom - M. Sinclair Page 0,22

in my blazer. It would no doubt be oversized on her, the woman was tiny and had to be more than a foot shorter than myself. I didn’t mind the concept of it being oversized though, in fact I loved it. I hated that other people could see her perfection.

She turned a corner and I followed, expecting to have to chase her but once we’d entered into the small hallway she turned to fix me with a look.

“Why are you following me?” She arched a dark eyebrow with a no-nonsense expression.

“Ophelia, right?” I asked, almost desperately, trying to not lunge forward to pull her into my arms. I wanted my hands sliding over her silky skin. But underneath the bold attitude, I could see that she was hesitant and almost jumpy. I didn’t want this little bunny running away before I could sink my teeth into her, marking her little body with a mating mark.

“Yeah.” She flicked her hair off her shoulder. “Who are you?”

“Kirin Bhatt,” I offered a hand as she stared at it before meeting it cautiously.

“Alright, Kirin, well it was good to meet you…” She was trying to leave. I hated that she had lost her memory. I hated that she didn’t remember us. Remember our friendship.

“Sit with me at lunch?” I asked quietly as her eyes widened.

“Uh,” she frowned, “maybe…I am a bit confused, Kirin. Do I know you?”

How did I explain to her that she was my mate?

“Beautiful?” A low voice had my jaw clenching, I knew that goddamn voice. Bardhyl stood there and despite not seeing him for years, he still looked like the ass he was.

“Hey, Bard,” she chirped and rounded me. “This is Kirin.”

The man narrowed his eyes at me knowingly as another guy stepped up and stared at me with an interested look. Ah, Koa. So still attached at the fucking hip then.

Ophelia spoke, “I will see you around, Kirin, maybe at lunch?” She was practically dragged the hell away then, leaving me with the other asshole.

“You’re back?” Koa asked softly.

“Obviously,” I mumbled.

Then he spoke words that shocked me, “If you care about her life, you need to stay away from her. She doesn’t know about our world and that knowledge is dangerous to her. Things have changed after…well, after everything that happened. It’s not time for her to know yet.”

I growled, trying to offer a cough to cover it, “When exactly is it going to be time then? This is bullshit.”

His eyes searched my expression. “Ask your Uncle if you want more information.” Then he was gone. What the actual fuck?

That night I had done that exact thing and my uncle had updated me on the situation regarding Ophelia Rose. Instantly, I found myself half furious and half scared for her welling being. Okay, more than half on both aspects. The hardest part? The guilt. I’d known Ophelia my entire life, but growing up I’d removed this situation from my head. I hadn’t let myself dwell on the little girl I’d left behind.

Plus, It was some bullshit trying to stay away from my own mate. When I’d run into her at that club…I just hadn’t wanted to waste the opportunity of us being alone. Of us connecting. Of me marking her. I was nearly getting a fucking hard on now just thinking about it.

To be fair, I deserved this torture because I had put myself in this situation. I hadn’t just happened to be at the same club as her that night, I’d been keeping tabs on her but had sort of lost my cool when other men started to try to talk to her.

“Hey, Kirin…” Merrick drawled as I gripped his collar and slammed him against the wall of the bar, the glass in his hand dropping as he let out a chuckle. His eyes flashed black before he offered me a lazy smile, a low growl breaking through my chest.

“What the fuck are you doing back?” I demanded.

“I expect the same as why you came back to the states after almost twelve years.” He grinned antagonistically.

“Stay away from her,” I snarled, “you aren’t part of her life and you know it.”

“Neither are you,” he grinned as I felt my jaw clench, “at least my boss has a claim to her, you are just a fucking kitty cat who wants to mate with her. No one, least of all me, gives a fuck what you want Kirin.”

I should have just killed him. It was times like this that I