Chapter 78
"Use your magic." Vera snarled out, and maybe it was a punishment for me or maybe it was her own curiosity, but at that moment I wasn't going to ask.
"Kylie." Kyle chastised me, frowning as I ramped up my magic.
My brother stepped towards me, guiding my hands towards my chest. For a second, I thought he was going to stop me, but he recognized the look in my eye, and he wanted his partner to know who he was too.
"Your powers are fresh and hungry, so you need to do this gently, okay? Your power is a part of you; don't be afraid of it." I bobbed my head as I coaxed the magic into the palms of my hands—a ball of light that got bigger and bigger. My heart was pumping in tune to it till I pressed my palms flat on either side of me, the magic creating a dome over us.
It was a silky cocoon that wrapped us, and Vera's eyes were big as she took it in.
Kyle didn't wait for my control to diminish before he dropped the mask on his fragrance, the familiarity of it flooding between the two of us as Vera let out a loud gasp. I watched as she stumbled towards him, her hands reaching out for him as they crashed against his chest, almost as if she believed he wasn't real.
"You weren't lying." She said it quietly. "You weren't lying." She repeated it more eagerly as she leaped into his arms. He smiled at her as he seized her, burying his face into the crook of her neck.
The strain of my powers was pounding in my head, but the headache was worth anything I could do for her.
The way he was staring at her, the way he was holding her, was reminding me of the partner I had left. The protective dome rippled with the influence of my thoughts, and Kyle examined it wearily before he looked down at Vera again, the look on his face turning bleak.
"I promise that we will see each other again, little jewel—for now, I need you to sleep." His words were sweet before he crushed a kiss on her lips, and she went limp in his arms.
My heart plummeted as I watched it unfold, the magic fading in my palms at the exact instant the mask of his scent resurfaced.
I shouldn't have trusted him. I shouldn't have fucking trusted him.
"What the fuck did you just do to her?" He was holding her gently, despite the way I was striking out at him.
"It's better this way." He kept her close to him, sheltering her from the punches I was firing his way.
He moved undisturbed by my fury as he placed her tenderly in one of the booths. My attacks paused for a minute as I watched him. His hands moved with tenderness across her body, repositioning her so that she would be comfortable before his fingers were on her face, brushing the hair out of her eyes.
His devotion to her was laid out bare, yet what he had just done didn't make any sense to me until he explained it.
"She won't want me to leave, but we both know why I have to." He said it sadly, and for a minute I mourned with him. It was what I had meant to do with Derrick in two days' time—to leave him when he couldn't stop me.
"I fear I've already stayed for too long." He sighed. "But you have to know that I never stopped protecting you, and I never will. You're the only reason that I managed to live this long, Kylie, and all this time you've been taking care of my mate for me too." His voice was smooth, loaded with so much meaning, and I was sinking into it.
The tears were overflowing in my eyes, and the walls I had put up were collapsing beneath the scrutiny of my brother.
"I know it's my responsibility that you got left behind. I didn't stop looking for you, Kyle—I didn't forget." My voice cracked as he turned to me, holding me close to him as my body trembled and shuddered.
"Don't blame yourself for what wasn't in your control; we both knew this day was going to come, and I hope that you can trust me. If you don't trust that I wouldn't do anything to damage you, at least believe that I would do nothing to hurt my mate." He squeezed my forearms as I moved away from him.
I nodded my head.
This was a mess.
"You have two days until she wants you back, but I know that your mate isn't human; I know that he's an alpha." His attention darted to the place my mark was intended to go. It's a miracle that he hasn't claimed you. He exclaimed in astonishment, but he will soon know the pain of it.
He knew Derrick was an alpha, but I didn't correct him—even with this tremendous shift in circumstances, I still didn't know whether I could trust him.
"I found a way to sever the mate bond years ago." My heart fell. "The demon that bound your powers lives in this town; she can make a potion to break the bond, and I have her address for you." He got up from the table to reach behind the cash register's counter. He scrawled something hastily on a piece of paper and handed it to me.
I gave him a brief glance. He used to be the strongest guy I had ever met, but over the previous ten years, my mother had gradually reduced his strength. She had damaged him enough to know he had to find a method to sever the inescapable mate bond before she found another opportunity to hurt him.
"Is this what you plan on doing to your mate too?" Vera was sleeping, and I was staring at her now, her features innocent and fearless.
"I would do what I needed to do to keep her safe." I would also do the same for Derrick, so I knew that.
I whispered, "She's been waiting for you for a long time." "I won't let you do it."
He knew that I wouldn't be able to stop him, so he grinned at me while expressing his pain.
"Maybe I can last a little longer than you." I gave him a mocking look, but I knew he wasn't serious.
"I have to leave now," His hands were on my shoulders as he pulled me to his chest, and then his gaze fell once again on his partner as he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.
Even though we were all going to suffer the same destiny, perhaps this time would be different since we were all going to lose something.
The prospect of an improved future looms large before us.