Oh God, I’d hurt her.
I hurt everyone.
I scrambled backward, my head knocking against the wall as I tried to swipe the blood off me, but there was so much, and I still wanted it.
I wanted all of it.
Wasteful.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Serenity finally came out of her paralyzed state. When she looked at me, it wasn’t a look filled with fear.
It was a look filled with disgust.
I disgusted her.
I disgusted myself.
This was why I’d been taken from my parents.
Why I’d stopped being King.
An abomination.
A fool.
“I’m—” Damn it. I couldn’t even get the words out; my voice sounded all wrong — gruff, loud — like it wasn’t me speaking at all. “I don’t understand.”
Cassius let out a long heavy sigh that shook the room with its force before his wings pointed down and then disappeared behind his back. “Timber, take Serenity upstairs—”
“No!” I roared, as if I had a reason to keep her by my side, protecting her, harming her, nearly ending her life. “She’s…” Stunned, I tried to erase the word from my mind, from my very existence.
“Mate. Mate. Mate,” my blood chanted.
Hell, I could hear her heart begin to pound; mine raced right along with her. I’d just somehow sealed our fates. I should have known all along it would be my lack of control that would do it.
I should have known.
I closed my eyes. “Go.”
“Mason—” She opened her eyes.
“Just go.”
I felt her disappointment in the air like a crackle of sadness splitting us in two, separating our hearts when all they ever wanted were to be next to each other.
I was losing my damn mind.
Once Timber and Serenity were gone, Cassius took one look at me and scowled. “You need to be more careful next time.”
“Tell me I heard you wrong.” I snorted. “There will be no next time. It was a mistake. I just… I’ve been having weird—” I gulped. “—weird cravings.”
Cassius sniffed the air. “Half lie. More omission than anything. Alright, I’ll bite.” He grinned at his own joke.
I just covered my face with my hands and prayed he’d kill me and get it over with.
“How long have you been having these… cravings?”