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“Really?” he scoffs, wrenching his arm from my hold as he steps back. “Did you listen to anything I just told you? Of course I didn’t tell you! Lucifer cursed me to never be able to find love. Why would I tell you I suspected you were my mate when nothing can come of it?”

Now that he’s no longer touching me, the lust falls away as I wrap my arms around myself, a frown forming once more. “That makes no sense. Why would the Fates give you a fated mate if you couldn’t love them?”

The Fates aren’t cruel. They wouldn’t give someone a fated mate when they’re cursed to never find love, would they?

I only spoke to them for a mere moment, but nothing about them leads me to believe they’re cruel. They seemed to care about me. They wouldn’t do this to me.

“To punish me? Fuck if I know. What I do know is that I’ve had multiple lovers torn from my life for one reason or another. I don’t get a happily ever after, Audrey, and I’m not going to give you false hope of that happening between the two of us because it can’t. It won’t because I refuse to hurt you like that.” He shakes my head. “You should just forget this ever happened. Go back to the three mates you already have. They’ll make you happy where all I can bring you is heartache.”

“Damn it. What is it with my mates thinking they’re the ones who get to make decisions for me?” I shout, baring my teeth at him. “This isn’t a decision you get to make on your own. You can’t just decide that this isn’t going to happen on your own. You’re mine.”

I see the corner of his mouth tip up for a moment before he glares at me. “And you don’t get to decide it’s happening just because you want it to, sweetheart. Relationships are a two-way road, and I want nothing to do with it or you.”

I blanch as his words hit me. He doesn’t want anything to do with me?

That’s very different from him being afraid of this supposed curse placed on him.

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Audrey. That’s not what I meant.” Nex transforms back into his human form as he runs his hands through his dark hair. “I’m trying not to hurt you. That’s my entire point, and clearly, I’m fucking that up as well.”

Today is the first time I’ve seen him without his glasses on, and I wonder if he even needs them. He seems to see perfectly fine right now—unlike me, who’s struggling with the lack of light.

“I can’t do this with you, Audrey—not now. Not ever. You need to forget all about me. I won’t ruin the happiness you’ve found with your mates.”

And there he goes again, making unilateral decisions.

I reach for him again when he shifts into his demon form and looks like he’s going to take off into the sky. I pant as lust washes over me once more—that damn electric shock shooting through me. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s not exactly comfortable. “Stop making decisions for me. I should be able to decide if I want to take a chance with this curse—not you.”

“No.” This time, he speaks gently and doesn’t rip himself from my grasp. “I’m sorry, Audrey. Just like I don’t think you’ll be swayed from your quest for vengeance, you’re not going to be able to convince me to do this with you. It’ll just end with all of us hurt, and I’m not going to do that to you or to Wraith, who’s been a good friend to me for a very long time. Not to Donovan, who wants nothing more than to love you and for you to love him in return. Not to Brenden, who I really like. Remember, you’re not the only one who will have to deal with the consequences.”

Before I can argue with him further, the front door swings open. Both of our heads swing toward the sound, finding Donovan and Brenden stepping outside with Wren right behind them.

“Sorry to interrupt whatever all of this is.” Brenden gestures between me and Nex. “But we need to get Wren to her dorm. She has orientation in the morning and needs to get some sleep.”

“And I have classes. I need to get some sleep too,” Nex says before taking off into the air.

“You motherfucker!” I scream after him, hoping he can still hear me. “This conversation isn’t over!”

Nex doesn’t give any indication that he heard me, but if he thinks this is over, he’s sadly mistaken. We need to at least talk about it. I don’t like the idea of him staying away from me just to protect me.

Wren clears her throat. “Everything okay, Ree?”

I melt at the childhood nickname my sister used to call me. “Not really, but it’ll be fine, eventually.”

At least, I hope it will be.

Shaking off the bullshit, I loop my arm through my sister’s and lead her toward the dorms while two of my mates trail behind us. After we drop her off at her room and exit her dorm, Donovan and Brenden crowd me against the wall of her dorm building.

“What was it that we interrupted between you and Nex?” Brenden asks, snaking a hand into my hair and tugging on it.

“He’s one of my other fated mates.” I hold up my hand when Donovan opens his mouth to speak. “I’ll tell you everything once we make it back home, okay?”

Donovan grins. “I like it when you call it home.”

“It is home. Now, let’s get to walking so we can make it back there, yeah?”

Brenden looks like he wants to argue but finally nods.

It feels weird leaving Wren in the dorms on her own. I hate that she’s here, but I’m glad I’m here with her. At least she has her memories from the start. Plus, Wraith won’t allow her to be sent away.