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“The small tent will be yours again, unless you wish to sleep together.” His expression was still gravely serious, his body tenser than it should’ve been.

Shock hit me, then. “In the forest, when we slept on the moss. You knew we were fated.”

The king’s confident expression didn’t waver. “I wouldn’t have held you if you weren’t mine. But you wouldn’t have believed me if I told you—you had to determine our connection yourself.”

I hated him for being right about that.

I hated the whole situation, actually.

The king had been waiting for his fated mate.

I had been searching for freedom, planning to kill once again for the sake of it.

Now the king had found me, but I refused to let go of the freedom I had fought so desperately to gain.

“This changes nothing for me,” I warned.

His lips curved upward slightly. “I’d be surprised if it did.”

Good.

At least he knew me well enough for that.

“We won’t share a bed; I am not your possession. There may be a connection between us, but the bond won’t develop without encouragement, and I won’t encourage it. Fate can go to hell for all I care.”

His lips curved upward further. “Whatever you say, Love.”

My eyes narrowed at him, and his smile turned into a full-out grin.

“Why are you grinning at me?” I growled at him.

His grin widened. “I’ve been looking for you for more than twenty years, and waiting for you for nearly forty. You may not encourage the bond, but I sure as fuck will.”

I blinked at him once, and then again.

A scowl twisted my features, and I stalked off toward the small tent.

His chuckle behind me warmed my chest more than I would ever admit, and my stomach clenched when he called after me, “Fight it as much as you want, Mate. I’ll worm my way into your heart one way or another.”

The small tent’s flaps closed behind me, and I dropped into the bed. My damp clothing frustrated me so much that I ripped the undergarment off, accidentally tearing the fabric in the process. The torn clothing went under the mattress, where the torn dress probably still was.

I collapsed onto the pillow, hoping for peace. But the moment I tugged the blankets over my bare skin, Namir’s scent hit me so hard that I nearly groaned.

How did he smell so damn good?

Stars, he was infuriating.

I forced my eyes to close, despite the pounding in my chest and the emotions racing in my mind. I couldn’t sleep, but having my eyes closed helped calm me slightly.

There were too many things to think through, to process.

Namir had waited for his mate.

Iwas his mate.

Forcing my breaths to come out and in evenly, I reminded myself what I knew about fated pairs.

Akari hadn’t said a whole lot—she said the couples were too rare for much of the information to be common knowledge.