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“Before me, you were dying to crowd crush!” Vex yells.

I lunge for him before I can stop myself. I’m stopped by an arm wrapping around my abdomen, and Vex is stopped from coming at me by Ralleth placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Get your hands off of me!” I scream and kick at whoever is pulling me back down the trail away from Vex and Ralleth.

“You are extra feisty today,” Rallan chuckles behind me. “I do not think Vex can handle you when you are this upset with him, so come take your aggression out on me.”

Vex tenses, his gaze watching as Rallan pulls me further away from him. I don’t know if he can hear us or not, but he looks completely deflated. Ralleth is saying something to him, and then they’re turning to walk back toward the great hall.

As soon as the door to our home closes, I feel the weight of what I just did. My body goes limp in Rallan’s hold. I turn to face him, burying my face against him as he wraps his arms tight around me. I don’t stop the tears from falling. I don’t feel weak when I finally let my emotions through. I feel empty and broken. More than anything else, I feel like my heart is breaking again.

“He’s leaving me,” I cry against Rallan’s tunic.

I should hate Rallan for laughing at me. I should hate the low rumble that vibrates through his chest. Instead, it brings me comfort because if he’s this calm about all of it, maybe it’ll be okay.

“I think you need to show him you care for him in a much different way. When he comes back, maybe you ride his cock. That would make me feel so close to my mate. Maybe it will make up for how you tried to rip his soul from his body today.”

“You’re disgusting,” I mumble. Instead of pushing him away, I pull him tighter to me and let him keep being his annoying self until my tears finally calm.

16

Rallan

I’m sitting up in bed, tracing lines up and down Simone’s back when Vex returns from his meeting on Earth. I hear him stomping around in the bedroom next to ours before he comes in. His eyes fall on how naked I managed to convince Simone to get tonight.

I promised her back scratches until she fell asleep and her tunic came flying off. I also may have known Vex was coming back tonight, and I wanted to see if he would be upset with his mate naked and wrapped up in my arms.

“Clever.” Vex rolls his eyes as he leans in the doorway. He crosses his arms over his chest, and his lips flatten into a tight line. I don’t stop stroking Simone’s back or watching as she breathes in and out. After a few moments of silence, Vex decides to say more to me. “Is she still mad at me?”

“She was not mad at you,” I tell him, knowing he might not believe me. “She was scared because her soul clings to yourseven though I am right here and eager for her to need me just as much.”

Vex looks taken back for a moment, before he relaxes against the doorframe even more. “What did you two do while I was gone?”

“Well, she used many colorful words to describe me and my neverending need to be inside of her. Then we worked on the houses, and at night, we did everything the same as always. Why? Did you think I was going to bed her while you were away?”

“It crossed my mind,” Vex says, pushing away from the doorway to come sit on the bed with us.

“It crossed mine as well,” I tell him. It crosses my mind most moments of most days, so it is not like I am telling him anything he doesn’t already know. “She will be happy you are back.”

“Will she?” Vex looks at me, his hand reaching out to stroke Simone’s back, taking my place. I let him because he has been gone from her for many days and needs this connection.

“She cried for you when you left,” I tell him.

It is not that I want him to feel bad. I want him to realize that our mate cares for him just as much as we care for her. She may be terrible at showing it, but her soul needs us both more than she will ever tell us.

“I didn’t want her to cry.”

“I know this, and she knows this,” I say. “She went looking for you right after you left. She wanted to apologize for what she said.”

“She doesn’t need to apologize,” Vex says, his teeth clenching tight.

“I told her this, but when she decides something, she is not one to be easily swayed.”

“Well, I’m sorry I wasn’t here to listen to her apology.”

I wave away the worried expression that is now on his face. He needs not worry because I have handled it. Just as I handle most of our mate’s fiery moods. “I convinced her the best way to apologize to you would be to bed us. I think she was very receptive to my suggestions.”

Simone snorts. It’s the first sound that I’ve heard from her in a long time. I look down at her with narrowed eyes and crinkled brows. How long has she been awake?