Page 133 of Consort of the Dragon King

Kitsuki nodded his head, then watched as Eldin led Auslin away to one of the meditation gardens.

Once they were alone in the beautiful stone garden filled with trees, Eldin didn’t hold back from showing his pain. “Why didn’t you come back to me when you broke up with Kio?”

“I know it’s hard to understand, but this was the decision that was right for me.” Auslin could only hope his friend would understand.

Eldin held Auslin’s face in his hands. “How could you mate someone else when you know how much I love you?”

“I never meant to hurt your feelings.”

“Every day we were apart, all I ever wanted was to be allowed to love you the way you deserve,” Eldin stated in anguish.

Unable to stand the pained expression in Eldin’s eyes, Auslin looked away. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not as sorry as I am.” Eldin leaned in for a kiss.

Auslin stepped back to avoid it. “Please don’t torture yourself like this.”

Eldin bitterly laughed. “I have tortured myself every day for the last two years thinking about that night when you were almost mine, wishing we hadn’t stopped when we did.”

Auslin tried to be gentle as he rejected his friend. “It can never happen now. I’m mated for life.”

His friend’s anguish was almost palpable. “How am I supposed to make my heart stop loving you when I fall for you a little more every day?”

“You shouldn’t waste your life pining away for a person you can never have,” Auslin gently told Eldin.

Some of Eldin’s hurt turned into anger. “This can’t be over!”

When Eldin tried to kiss Auslin again, he narrowly dodged the attempt. “Please don’t do this, Eldin.” Auslin’s guilt over hurting his friend twisted his stomach into knots.

“But I would do anything for you!”

“If you’ll really do anything for my sake, then you have to give up on me.” It felt cruel to say, but it was necessary to make Eldin understand they could never be more than friends.

“My heart only knows how to love you.” Eldin gathered Auslin into a tight hug. “This can’t be over! I refuse to accept that I’ve lost you forever.”

Auslin rubbed his friend’s back to offer him some comfort. “You will always be my treasured friend, but that’s all we can be now.”

“How can I live in a world without the hope you’ll one day be mine?” Eldin questioned in agony. “This can’t be the last time I’m allowed to hold you in my arms. I can’t bear the thought of never being able to kiss your lips and love you openly with all my heart.”

“I’m so sorry.” Auslin’s eyes teared up as the guilt ate away at him. It hurt having to dissuade Eldin from another attempt at kissing him again. “Please stop.”

“Even if your mate kills me for it, it’ll be worth it for sparing me the pain of having to watch you be happy with someone that isn’t me.” Eldin forcefully captured Auslin’s lips in a passionate kiss, refusing to let him pull away.

Kitsuki suddenly appeared to physically separate the two. He stared down at Eldin with a murderous expression, his hand resting on his sword in silent warning.

Eldin glared at Kitsuki with all his hurt and anger. “Go ahead and kill me. There’s nothing you can physically do to me that will hurt more than knowing Auslin is yours forever.” With a final anguished look at Auslin, Eldin ran away from the garden.

Kitsuki turned on Auslin. “Thisis why you were so upset? You knew he was in love with you?”

“I’m so sorry.” Auslin lost the battle with his tears, unable to hold them back when he realized how much he had hurt Eldin and upset his mate.

Auslin’s distress disarmed Kitsuki’s rage. He embraced Auslin, offering his mate silent comfort as he continued crying over the heartache he had caused his friend.

“Let us return to our rooms at the castle,” Kitsuki softly suggested. “It is best to get as far away from this place as you can.”

Auslin could only whisper broken apologies as he wiped away his tears and followed Kitsuki.

Chapter 66

---