forgot.” Ronan pulls an envelope from his jacket. “We’re invited to a ball organized by the coven of witches. King Raphael will be in attendance, and we’re expected to be there too.”
Fuck. A ball run by witches? Aurora will be there too. And her fiancé. My fangs elongate and my vision becomes tinged in red. I yank the envelope from Ronan’s hand, almost ripping the paper in the process.
“Why are they throwing a damn ball? What’s the occasion?”
“Do the witches need a reason to throw a party in this town?”
I quickly read the invite, but there’s nothing mentioning Aurora’s engagement. It doesn’t matter. My heart is beating at full speed and shakes are running through my body.
“Sax? Are you okay?” Ronan asks.
“I’m fine,” I grit out.
“Then why are you crushing the invitation like that?”
I toss the crumpled paper to the ground. “I have to feed.”
Not looking back, I stride into the house, and veer toward the kitchen where a huge fridge stores bags of blood. I haven’t been able to drink from a human since Aurora, and right now, it’s not the moment to try. Ronan follows me, but he doesn’t say a word as I clear through at least five bags. I didn’t even bother to heat them up.
“It’s the young witch, isn’t it? You two hooked up,” he says.
“Yeah. So what? It was just a one-time thing.”
“Hmm. If you say so. Whatever it is that you’re going through, you’d better be on your best behavior tomorrow night.”
“Wait. The ball is tomorrow night?” I didn’t read all the details on the invite. My eyes were scanning for the word engagement or wedding.
“Yep.”
“And why did we only receive the invitation today?”
“It arrived five days ago. Gerard gave me all the mail. I simply didn’t remember it until tonight.”
Frustrated and angry, I run a shaky hand through my hair. I’ve been denying seeing Aurora for this long, which only made my craving worse. What’s going to happen when I see her face-to-face again? Am I going to claim her caveman-style by tossing her over my shoulder and taking her away?
“Why are your eyes glowing like that?” Ronan stands straighter, his body now coiled tight in high alert. “Are you going into bloodlust?”
“No. It’s not bloodlust.” I glance away, embarrassed. “Solomon told me I’m mated to Aurora.”
“What?” His voice rises.
“Somehow, when I drank from her, I ended up mated to her.” I laugh without humor. “I thought Solomon was pulling my leg, trying to get back at me for all the headaches I’ve given him throughout the years.”
“He’d never make a statement like that as punishment.”
I snort. “He laughed his ass off, so I’m not sure I agree with you. Anyway, I didn’t believe him at first. But I’ve been getting physically ill by staying away from Aurora. I don’t know what to do.”
“Sax, she’s promised to another. You have to find a way to break the bond.”
“I know that! Do you think I want to be mated to her? She’s a witch, Ronan. A fucking witch. Only a crazy vampire would want to shack up with one.”
“And she’s mortal too. Even if there were no fiancé in the mix and you got together, you’d have to watch her die.”
A sharp pain in my chest robs me of breath. The idea of her dying on me is akin to a steely knife puncturing my lungs.
“What am I supposed to do? Have you ever heard of anyone breaking a mating bond?”
“No. But if there’s a way, the witches would know.”
“I can’t tell Aurora I’m mated to her.”
His eyebrows arch, almost meeting his hairline. “Why the hell not? She has as much skin in the game as you do. She needs to know.”
I shake my head. “No. As far as I’m aware, this situation is one-sided. I’m going to deal with it on my own.”
“Suit yourself. But maybe you’d better skip the ball.”
He’s right. I shouldn’t go. But we both know I won’t be able to stay away.
9
Saxon
“These balls are such a bore. There’s rarely any human in sight.” Manu scans the crowd from the entry foyer of the Conservatorium Hotel, no doubt looking for her hookup for the night.
“I see plenty of humans,” Ronan grumbles.
“I meant non-magical humans,” she amends. “I’m not crazy enough to drink from a mage.”
I wince, even though her remark is not aimed at me. She doesn’t know I’ve hooked up with Aurora. If she did, Manu would have mentioned it. She wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease