Page 96 of Immortal Bastard (The Order of Vampires)

“Don’t act like you haven’t! It was your blood choking me when I woke up today!”

“Pardon me for not letting you starve.”

“Are my values getting in your way? Funny, yours are indisputable, but mine are just tedious little interferences. You’re bigger, stronger, and will always be more powerful than me. That’s what you said, right? Opposition is futile. Just like my submission, you plan to bend my morals so they fit neatly into your perfect world. Fuck it if you break me in the process. I’m just one more thing you own.”

“You’re not a toy to me! I would never take you for granted.”

“But I’m also not a person to you. I’ll always be second because no one could possibly be equal. No one can feel pain as deeply as you feel or know the depth of your longing. We’re all just background pieces to this profound masterpiece you call life where you’re the only important person whose feelings really matter. Well, I think your life sucks! I mean, really, are you even happy?” She scoffed, shaking her head at how incredibly blind and one-sided he could be. “You’re not so perfect. Maybe God sent me here to teach you that!”

His jaw twitched as he held her stare, and the energy between them pulsed as his jaw clenched and he seethed. “I will not let you go.”

Her head was literally throbbing. “That’s what you took away from all that? Were you even listening?”

“Yes, I listened. What does it matter if I’m happy? You’re my mate—”

“Don’t use words you don’t understand!” she screamed. “I don’t care about your traditions. A mate is a partner, a friend. It’s not a subordinate. Not an opponent. And not a fucking possession!”

Eyes sharp, he stared at her with uncontainable frustration. His nostrils flared with every panted breath, and his shoulders pulsed with building fury. It beat at her, pulsing and building like invisible steam that took up every inch of space and put pressure on everything as it desperately sought an outlet. If he didn’t get it out—

A roar exploded from him, rattling the windows and hurting her ears as he flipped the kitchen table on end, knocking two chairs down in the process.

She jumped back. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m angry!”

“At the table?”

“At the world!” He growled and kicked another chair. The wood smashed into the wall and splintered into kindling. “This wasn’t supposed to be this difficult. Love is supposed to feel good.”

“Love?” She laughed nervously. “Christian, just because you planted your flag on me doesn’t mean you laid claim to my heart. How could I love you when you refuse to even listen to what I want?”

“Listen?” He scoffed. “I have listened. I know what you want. You want to go home. It’s all you’ve talked of since coming here. All you’ve thought about. I can’t give you that.”

“I didn’t come here. You kidnapped me.”

He waved away her words. “Details.”

“Details matter! Pebbles can change the course of a river and carve canyons over time. You dismiss everything as insignificant if it’s not important to you, but what about how other people feel? You won’t even compromise.”

“I’ve tried. I took you to meet the other females and you betrayed me.”

“I did not.”

“I heard you speaking to Larissa. I read your intentions with Sister Annalise and Sister Destiny. You were planning to leave.”

“That surprised you? It can’t be a betrayal if you knew it was coming. You’ve been in my head since I got here. You knew what I was planning to do when I met them.”

“It still disappointed me! I showed you kindness by taking you to meet them and it changed nothing—”

“I. Am. A. Prisoner!” she yelled. “I’m not a bird you can cage. Even if I live forever, you’ll kill my soul if you try to keep me in captivity. Do you want that?”

“No!”

“Then there has to be another way.”

“I don’t know of any other way. I only know that losing you will destroy me. The mere thought causes me unbearable agony.” He rubbed his chest. “I…I don’t want to lose you, Delilah, but I also don’t want to be the root of your unhappiness. I want you to choose to stay, to choose me over everything else.”

That was an incredibly tall order and one she didn’t expect to ever meet. “Maybe set a smaller goal.”

“Why? Why should I compromise when that is the only thing I want.”

“But it’s not the only thing you want. There are bonnets and blood and God knows what else!” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “And, like I’ve been trying to explain, a relationship involves two people. You have to consider the other person. I want things too. Happy couples—” God, was she really using those words? “Couples compromise.”

He turned away and glared out the window. They both needed to catch their breath and let their tempers cool.