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Once again, the urge to believe him weighs on me, but I’m reminded of the dream I just had. I remembered the way I hurt when I realized Markis was playing me the entire time.

Stepping away from him, I turn my back to Enzo. “You’re only saying this because you think the goddess wants this for you. It’s the mate bond talking.”

He laughs out loud. I turn to glare at him.

“What’s so funny?” I pout.

He shakes his head. “Damn, we don’t know shit about each other’s world,” he says before sobering. “Mate bonds don’t work that way. This bond can’t make me feel anything I don’t want to feel.”

This is news to me. I thought this attraction and these feelings I was having were due to the mate bond. I thought that’s why he was suddenly being so nice to me and touching me.

He smiles, grabs my arm, and pulls me toward him. “I want you. I won’t lie, as if this was easy to come to terms with. I hated everything that you were when we first met. But even then, I was drawn to you. I had no idea why. Shit, even my wolf was confused. He realized I was attracted to you sooner than I did. The moment I stopped trying to hate you, I realized why the goddess blessed our union.”

“Why?”

Placing his hand on my back, he pulls me even closer to him. His lips only inches from mine.

“Because you were made for me. The reason your ex mistreated you and didn’t value you, is because you were never his to have.”

My will is slipping, but I have to continue to fight. “But the disgust and the remorse I felt from you that first morning.”

He shakes his head. “I thought I was supposed to be mated to another. Her name was Ana. She was the first daughter of an Alpha. Her father wanted her to find an alpha for a mate. He thought she was too good for a beta.”

I scrunched my nose. Sounds like her father was a dick.

Enzo continues. “We had plans to run off and form a mate bond at the next moon jubilee. We both figured her father would take us seriously then.”

The memory of the blonde with the blue eyes lying on his chest comes to mind. The day I was telling him how to fight a sifter, he pulled up the memory of her. I didn’t even have to look for it. I guess he was feeling it so strongly he pushed it to my thoughts.

“What happened?” I ask.

He swallows, his golden eyes looking away from me. “Her entire family was killed by vampires.”

So much makes sense to me now. This is why he hated me so much when I first arrived. It also makes sense why he felt so much remorse the next day after our mating.

“I’m sorry, Enzo.”

There wasn’t much else I can say. Like I told them, vampires don’t kill without a reason. He might not like the reason, but there is one.

He cuts his eyes back on me. “No need to apologize. I just wanted you to understand why I felt that way the morning after. I’ve been so angry with you because of the pain vampires have caused me, but my wolf made me realize you are not all vampires. You have not done me wrong.”

It’s my time to look away from him. If he knew the things I’d done, he wouldn’t be feeling this way. I’m everything they hate about vampires. I don’t deserve his kindness or forgiveness.

“I have a past,” I start.

He shakes his head. “You’re a member of the legion, Michaela. I’m not stupid. I know you’ve done shit you’re probably not proud of. Hell, you’re nearly five hundred years old. Nobody lives that long without fucking up or making bad decisions. I don’t need a breakdown of your past. I’m here in the present. The only thing I’m worried about is your future.”

The tears I’d been keeping at bay fall. For the first time, I feel seen. I feel as if someone actually notices me and not what I can be or what I can do.

“I want to make this work,” he continues. “No more games. No more plotting. You asked me what I wanted, and I’m telling you. I want you to stop fighting me. Let your guard down and allow us to work.”

I step back, glaring at him. He shakes his head.

“Not your wall. You can keep your secrets. I want you to lower the guard you have around your heart.”

I relax, knowing that he isn’t asking for my secrets. However, his request is just as difficult. Turning away from his gaze, I look down at my hands. His finger under my chin turns me back to him.

“You don’t understand,” I say. “My guard is all I have. It’s all I know. It has kept me safe for a long time.”