Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 61: The Painful Truth

Luka senses that whatever I’m about to reveal to him, it’s something big. Something important, potentially life changing. And so before I can speak, he takes off his shirt and gently begins wiping the blood and cum from my face, my neck, my breasts, all heat now gone from the moment.

He’s being so sweet and so gentle that it breaks my heart, what I’ll have to say next.

He grasps the torn remnants of my white lace dress, which he ripped straight off my body earlier in the throes of our passion. Looking around for something I can wear to cover my naked body, his eyes finally alight on a tapestry hanging on the wall, aptly depicting an armoured knight handing a blood red rose to his lady, cloistered away in a garden courtyard, a noble and courtly scene.

He walks over the tapestry and yanks it off the wall, tearing it free from the wooden rod and rings securing it in place. He brings the tapestry over to me and wraps it around my shoulders like a blanket. It’s surprisingly soft and pleasant, despite its threadbare appearance, and I snuggle appreciatively

into its warmth.

Then he settles down across

“So, what did

from me

the piano stool while

le I’m perched on the top of the piano, and cocks an eyebrow expectantly.

уна need to tell me?” He asks gruffly, and I feel my heart sink.

Where the hell do I even start?

–

Several minutes later, Luka is still sitting across from me, but now his expression is a mix of confusion, doubt and unmistakable pain. I spent the past few minutes explaining to him, as best as I can, the way our mate bond came to be. How Mircea needed to break me out of Father Codrin’s prison, and the only thing more powerful than the magical protective wards that surrounded the village was a mate bond so she literally created one where it was needed. She had gathered some strands of his silver wolf hair from the remnants of the ripped up red dress I was wearing in the forest when he first saved me, and then she plaited his hair with mine, to cast some sort of mate bond spell

“So we were bound together by Mircea, not by the Moon Goddess,” I say, my voice trembling as tears spring to my eyes. “I’m so sorry Luka. I’m so sorry we – 1 – used you like that. You should know who you’re binding yourself to, who you’re throwing your life away for. I’m not worth it. I guess…” my voice breaks a little here as I fight back the tears, “I guess I’m no better than Aleksandr.”

“But the Moon Goddess approved of the bond,” Luka says, his gaze piercing, full of renewed fire. “The spell couldn’t have worked without her consent. her endorsement. She gave us her blessing, and that’s all that matters. Arianna, listen to me…”

He stands up then, moving closer to me, taking my hands in his as he gazes into my eyes.

“I don’t care how the mate bond came to be, whether it was fate or luck,” he says, his voice heavy with heartfelt emotion. “All that matters is how I feel “about you. What I feel for you is real, god damn it. Arianna, I really mean it. I lov-”

“Wait!” I cry out, cutting him off before he can complete the sentence.

“Luka, I do want you, but I’m too young to bind myself to you,” I say the terrible words, my heart breaking as I see the Blash of pain in his eyes. “I’m only eighteen. I know in some parts of the world that’s a perfectly normal age to settle down for life, get married, have kids… but I still feel like a kid. myself”

“Then what does that make me? I’m not that much older than you,” Luka p

points out. “I turned twenty one a few months ago. Age is just a number.”

“Yes, but you’re a full grown man, you’ve had experiences I can only dream of,” I say as softly as I can. “I still have a lot of growing up to do. The truth is, I still have a lot of growing up to do. I need to go back to the human world, and leave the supernatural world behind. I have to go to college, get my heartbroken, find myself. You understand, right?”

“I’ll come with you,” he says gruffly, running his hands through his long silver hair. “We can do it together. And you’ll need someone to protect you, take care of you.”

“No, Luka,” I say gently, hating the pain I’m causing him. “I need to learn to look after myself. We need to find a way to break the mate bond. I have to set you free.”

The raw hurt in his eyes almost pushes me over the edge, but I stick firm to my decision. This is the right thing to do.

“Breaking the mate bond is the easy part,” he says, sighing as he sits back down on the piano stool, his entire posture nos dejected and defeated. “It’s the pain afterwards that’s a bitch. I can tell you the words you’ll need to speak, but maybe it’s different because this mate bond is a little different. Maybe we’ll need Mircea to help break it. She’s here, at the castle. Aleksandr freed all of us from the mob when you summoned him during your

Chapter 61 The Painful Truth

execution.”

I nod, realising he’s right about Mircea’s involvement. She’ll know the best way to reverse the spell she cast.

“You’re sure though? Luka asks, his expression solemn. “I’m serious about you, Arianna”

“I know,” I say, fighting back a fresh round of tears. “But I need to figure myself out before I commit to anyone. And you don’t know if your feelings for me are even real. The mate bond could be working like some sort of love spell, making you feel things you wouldn’t otherwise. We’ll only know once the bond is broken. Don’t you want to know the truth?”

Luka is silent, but thoughtful, pondering the question and looking absolutely miserable.

The next thing to do is to find Mircea. It’s a big castle though, and she could be anywhere so I do the next best thing. I know exactly who can bring Mircea to me.

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