Five days passed in excruciating silence. We shared the same chambers but might as well have been on opposite sides of the world. Kaius went through the motions of respect–deferring to me in public, maintaining the appearance of our partnership–but in private, he kept his distance. No casual touches, no tender kisses, certainly no intimacy.
I couldn’t bear it anymore. The loneliness was crushing me, the rejection a constant wound that refused to heal. If logic wouldn’t work, perhaps desire would. After all, we had always been drawn to each other physically, even before we’d admitted our feelings.
In the dim light of our bedroom, I waited. The only things covering my skin were bright red lace and a thin black string. I wore the sheer red lace balconette bra he liked, the kind that pushed my breasts up, offering a clear, tempting view. Below, just a black G- string, minimal fabric that barely covered the front and left my hips and ass exposed to his gaze. He’d picked out the bra, his eyes hot even then. My hair fell loose around my shoulders, mingling with the scent I knew he found irresistible. The cool air hit my mostly bare skin, a sharp contrast to the heat building inside me.
When Kaius entered, he froze in the doorway, his eyes darkening with unmistakable desire before he mastered himself.
“Elowen, put on your clothes.” His voice was strained, almost pained.
“Kaius, look at me. Nothing had changed. Has it?” I moved toward him, letting him see every curve, every bit of skin that had once belonged to him.
“No, you are still as sexy as ever.” The admission seemed torn from him against his will.
“You don’t need to restrain yourself. I miss your touch, Kaius.” I closed the distance between us, pressing my body against his. My hand didn’t hesitate, sliding boldly past the waistband of his trousers, fingers seeking and finding the hard ridge of his cock through his underwear. He sucked in a sharp breath, his body betraying him with an involuntary tremor, the heat and hardness growing against my palm.
Proof he did want me.
But even as his body responded, he grasped my wrist, his grip firm, pulling my hand free. He stepped back, creating that agonizing space between us once more. His eyes were tortured, but his jaw was set.
Humiliation washed over me, cold and sharp. I sank to my knees before him, the hard floor a stark contrast to the heat I’d just felt. I looked up, shame warring with the raw love and desire still churning inside me.
“Is this what you want, Kaius?” My voice cracked. “Do you want me to beg? Because I am ready to do just that. Had I become so undesirable that even this wasn’t enough?
Pain and longing warred visibly in his expression then. “If only you knew how badly I want you,” he ground out, his voice thick with suppressed need, “but you’ve become the one thing I desire the most… but can never have.” His words felt like ashes after his body’s clear rejection. He might say he wanted me, but he wouldn’t take me. The kneeling felt less like begging now, and more like utter defeat.
“You choose not to; I am right here, standing before you, but you choose not to have me Anger crept into my emotion than the despair threatening to drown me.
“You being my sister changes everything.”
“Half–sister,” I corrected, grasping at straws.
His expression hardened. “You would always be my Luna and Queen, but… we can’t.”
e, a safer
Don’t say it, Kaius. You want to reject me, and I do not want to hear it.” I rose from my knees, dignity finally asserting itself through the humiliation.
1/3
Chapter 130.
“It won’t be called rejection since we were never mates; I would always be there for you, and I want you happy.” The practiced,
reasonable tone made me want to scream.
“If you want me happy, then you wouldn’t be saying all these; if you want me happy, then you would leave all this‘ behind us and we would move on.” I gestured between us, at the invisible barrier that had replaced our passion.
“That is impossible, Elowen; as much as I wished I never knew the truth, I did, and… things would never be the same.” The finality in his voice crushed the last of my hope.
“You said you loved me. Did you really mean those words?” I asked, needing to know if anything had been real.
His expression softened momentarily. “I had never said those words to anyone but Celestia, but I had never meant it as I did when I proclaimed them to you.”
“Then why? Why wouldn’t you fight for us?”
“Elowen. You deserve to be happy. Frost can give you that.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. “What?”
“It is not exactly shocking; he has feelings for you, and I trust him to take care of you more than I ever will. You don’t deserve this
treatment.”
Fury rose in me, hot and cleansing. “So you are going to pass me on to him? And when he no longer wants me, he would pass me on to… maybe one of the soldiers?”
“Elowen, please don’t say that. You are not an object, but you deserve better, and I… I can’t even touch you.” The pain in his voice would have moved me once. Now, it just fueled my anger.
“You know what I think? I think you were waiting for this opportunity all along, when you would get to let go of me; I had always
been a burden to you.”
“If you were a burden, then you would have been one I was very willing to carry. But you weren’t. I had not stopped loving you, and it is wrong, but this I cannot undo.”
“Some secrets were meant to be hidden, and I wish I had never told you any of this; nothing would have changed; you would still be able to look me in the eyes while you kissed me.” The tears I’d been fighting spilled over, but I was beyond caring.
Something like fear flickered in his eyes. “Promise me that you would be safe and not do something stupid.”
“I won’t try drowning myself if that is what you mean.” The words came out bitter and sharp.
“Elowen…” He reached for me, then let his hand fall, the gesture a perfect encapsulation of our predicament.
“You don’t have to say anything more. You’ve made it clear; you don’t want me anymore; I’ll go off to Frost’s, and also, don’t let me hold you down; go along and fuck the other girls waiting on the line. I grabbed my clothes, wrapping it around me with hands that shook with rage and grief.
I walked out, not looking back to see if my barb had struck home.
