~ EXCERPT BELOW ~
Connor has two choices, free his mate from the bond that was started long ago or fight for the woman he loves. With an arsonist on the loose, Jenna’s life is in danger, and their chance for happiness may come too late...
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“You left me with a note. What the fuck do you expect from me?” He pushed off the counter and moved in closer. A predator stalking its prey. “You didn’t even have the decency to talk to me face- to- face. Tell me what it was I did wrong so we could work it out.” He shook his head. “You seemed happy. What the hell happened?”
She wanted to tell him. Wanted to blurt out every little word, but what good would it do? It would only serve to open the well of pain she’d capped and buried deep. Yeah, call her gutless, but she wasn’t about to tell him the real reason she fled. That she couldn’t take the chance he would follow the rules of the elders and banish her if she was unable to give him children. That she wished she’d been born anything but a halfling. Their society left her kind feeling worthless. She was half dragon, yet she was nothing.
“I realized I didn’t love you,” she lied, and the pain reflected in his eyes before he quickly regained his composure, cut straight through her.
“You were betrothed to me as a child. We don’t choose our partners for love and you know that.”
His words stung the opening wounds and proved she’d been right in leaving. He was correct, though. She’d been raised knowing the reasons behind the rules, even if she thought them stupid and barbaric, and they left her feeling helpless. The dragon species had been on the decline, and fertile females were like gold to them. Still, that didn’t mean those who weren’t should be cast out and forced to live without their families. Was she wrong in her thinking? She remembered the look of hurt in her father’s eyes when she’d told her parents how she felt and was packing to leave. They’d stood by her but had tried to convince her she should talk to Connor. She’d refused, knowing he would have changed her mind.
“I’m fully aware of the rules and they suck. They’re stupid and belong in the dark ages.” She crossed her arms. “Find a new female.”