Page 66 of Galen

Galen flinched, and I instantly regretted my words.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean that I—”

“No. You’re right.” Galen dropped his gaze to the sand beneath his boots. “Once you leave this place, all ties will be cut with you. It would be cruel of me to let you live with your heartache.”

“What about yours?”

His gray eyes moved to me. “My heartache?”

I nodded. “You act like you don’t feel anything for me, but I see it in your eyes, Galen. I feel it in your touch.”

“It doesn’t matter what I feel. Nothing more can hap—”

“Why?” I asked, my voice rising. “Why can’t anything happen? Because you’re not fully human? I don’t care about that.”

“Simon—”

“No. You listen to me for once.” I poked his chest. He glanced down at my hand, a weird expression crossing his face. It appeared to be a combination of shock and amusement. “I know I’m an idiot, okay? I tried so damn hard not to fall for you, but I fell anyway, you big asshole. These weeks with you have been the best of my life. Strange and downright crazy. But amazing.”

“Did you just call me an asshole?”

“Sure did.”

Humor danced in his eyes. “Such an odd human. You do know I could tear you apart with my bare hands, right?”

I stepped closer. “Your hands have done many things, Galen. But hurting me isn’t one of them.”

The softness in his expression made my stomach flutter. He brought me against his chest. “You haven’t seen the real me, Simon. The real me is ugly. Angry.” A distant gleam surfaced in his eyes. “A monster.”

I recalled Raiden’s story of how Galen nearly let Wrath consume him at one time. Was that what he was referring to? What had happened to make him that way?

“That’s not the real you,” I said, resting my head on his chest. His skin was so warm. I took comfort in his sandalwood scent. “You’re kind and gentle despite what you say. You’re a protector. You fight against the anger inside you instead of unleashing it. A monster wouldn’t do that. But a good man would.”

Galen stared down at me, his mouth set in a hard line. His eyes gave him away though. “You have too much faith in me.”

“No. You just don’t have nearly enough faith in yourself.” I locked my hands behind his neck. I felt a shift between us. This conversation would change everything, whether it be for good or worse. “Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll walk away right now.”

“It’s not that simple.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed. “Where would you even go? You’re stuck here until I know Phoenix won’t pursue you.”

I breathed out a short laugh. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I.” Galen bent and pressed his face into the top of my hair. “Of course I want you, you ridiculous human. How could I not? But wanting you isn’t enough. You have no future with me. Not a happy one anyway.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Loving me is dangerous. I can’t give you more than my body, Simon.”

Tears stung my eyes. “But you marked me. Doesn’t that mean something to you?”

The bite mark he’d given me a month ago had faded. The first time I’d looked in the mirror and noticed it was gone, lead had dropped into my gut. I had liked belonging to him, liked being the only one to ever wear his mark.

“It does mean something,” he whispered, looking toward the sea. “Yet, it changes nothing. The last time I gave my heart to someone, I nearly destroyed everything I hold dear. Every single second of every day, I battle against the beast inside me. And at one time, I became so blinded by rage that I couldn’t control that beast anymore.”

The pain in his voice clawed at my heart. I wanted to take that pain away from him.

“Will you tell me what happened?” I asked.

I expected him to ignore me or change the subject like usual.