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“All I want is peace.”

Adriel offered a sad grin. “Violence does not achieve that.”

“Then why are we planning to kill your ex?”

“Cerberus cannot be killed. He’s different. I know this, which is why…” Juniper deserved her honesty. “Sometimes when fated mates pass, their counterparts also die.”

“Are you saying if we kill Cerberus, we might unintentionally kill you?”

“I’m saying it would not be unintentional. Cerberus is unlike any immortal I’ve ever come across. I will not give him the chance to hurt me again, or anyone else for that matter.”

Juniper tugged her hand free. “What the fuck are you talking about, Adriel? Killing yourself?”

“I would rather die than suffer his revenge. I’m not a violent person. I’ve never killed a living thing. This is the only way I know to evade him.”

“By taking your own life? That’s not a fucking solution.” She sprung to her feet and paced the kitchen. “What is with you underestimating your power?”

“You don’t know him, Juniper. He’s incrediblystrong and beyond cruel. He’s not coming to reconcile. He’s coming to punish me. Ending my life removes that option. It also bears the possibility of him dying with me. Mates are said to suffer shared mortality. There’s a physical link as much as there is a mental and emotional one.”

“Yet he beat you.”

“Like I said, Cerberus has an incredible tolerance for pain.”

“Men do not beat those they love.”

A sad smile curved her lips. “Even as a girl of only four and ten, I was never fanciful enough to believe he loved me. I was a possession to him. An object to use and abuse.” Her finger traced a knot in the surface of the table. “They say a mortal marriage cannot compare to the bond mates share. But I disagree. Love—actual unconditional, selfless love—is the strongest bond of all. Neither marriage or mating guarantees such a thing.”

Sympathy bloomed in her chest. Like Dane, she understood what it was to want something she would never have. Adriel had given up any hope of love a long time ago.

She reached for Juniper’s hand. “We must be patient with Dane. He loves someone who refuses to love him back. And despite her rejection, he will continue to protect her, even when it costs him. Do not make him choose. We must learn to work through our trauma, search deep inside ourselves, and find forgiveness.”

“Why does she refuse to love him?”

“Because Dane is a hybrid, and hybrids cannot be called. Grace is saving herself for her true mate.”

“How long will she wait?”

Adriel shrugged. “It could be tomorrow, or it could be centuries from now.”

“So, Dane might not even be alive when it happens?”

“We don’t know how long hybrids live. Proper nutrition plays a role, but so does lifestyle. He’s trying very hard to accept that Grace will never be his, but I fear he’s on a destructive course. We need to be very gentle with him right now. He’s lost everyone. The best way we can support him is to love him. We must show him he’s still deserving of that.”

“Fine.” She sat back in her seat. “I’ll make a deal with you, Adriel. I’ll give up my vendetta with Jonas if you give up this idea about taking your own life.”

The breath in her lungs chilled. “That’s not fair.”

“Why not? You’re the only person I have left. Like Dane, I’ve lost everyone. I can’t lose you too.”

“This is my choice?—”

“Make another one.”

“There is no other. I’ve thought of every other option. I cannot go back to the way things were. I won’t.”

“Then we figure out a way to end him before it comes to you taking your own life. It has to happen. Cerberus has to die.”

CHAPTER 17