Page 41 of Fated for Dawn

“You might want to sit down for this,” he said, his usual sharpness replaced with something almost…uncertain.

Lucien took a deep breath as if steeling himself. “You’re my fated mate, Evelyn.” He held my gaze, the words landing with a weight I wasn’t prepared for. “You’re mine.”

I froze, a cookie halfway to my mouth. A tangle of emotions surged through me—relief, anger, confusion, hurt. “I-I… w-what?” I stammered. “But yousaidyou weren’t. Why lie?”

“Because I’m a stubborn, grumpy bastard who thought his position at the Academy mattered more than my happiness.Because I was scared. Take your pick.” His expression twisted with regret. “I was wrong.”

I set the cookie down, my appetite gone. “Wrong?” I echoed, my voice sharp. “Do you have any idea what that did to me? How much I doubted what I felt.”

Lucien stepped closer. “When you were gone for that year, I realized how much of a coward I’d been. I was losing my mind. I promised myself that if you came back—because I couldn’t accept a world without you—I wouldn’t let anything get in the way. Not my position, not our age difference, nothing. You are mine, Evelyn, and I’m never letting you go.”

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, anger and relief battling for dominance.

Lucien’s jaw tightened. “I was an ass,” he admitted, his voice rough. “I thought I was protecting you. That if I stayed away, it would spare you from…from me. But I see now that all I did was lie to myself. And to you, my mate.” He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I need you to know—I regret every second I spent pushing you away. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you let me.”

I let out a short, bitter laugh. “You thought you were protecting me? Did you ever stop to think what it was like for me? Feeling that pull, knowing something was missing, and having you look me in the eye and tell me it wasn’t real?”

Lucien flinched, and for once, he didn’t have a sharp retort.

The silence stretched. My chest ached from anger, betrayal…and maybe a bit of relief. Slowly, I reached for the cookie, needing something to keep my hands busy.

“You broke my trust, Lucien. You made me doubt myself.”

“I know,” he said, stepping closer.Too close.

I held up a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“Words are nice. But you don’t get to undo what you did with a few regrets and a plate of cookies. You want me to trust you again?” I met his gaze. “Then earn it.”

Lucien exhaled sharply, his shoulders dropping. “I will.”

I watched him for a long moment, searching his face and reading the weight in his eyes. He looked…wrecked.

I sighed, shaking my head. “For a smart guy, you’re pretty damn dumb sometimes.”

His lips twitched—the ghost of a smile. “I deserve that.”

“You deserve worse,” I shot back, though my voice had no real venom. The anger was still there, but it was melting into something else—something softer, something I wasn’t ready to name.

Lucien’s throat bobbed. He looked like he wanted to touch me and was waiting for permission.

I let him wait.

Then, finally, I let out a breath and said, “I expect groveling. And more baking. A lot more baking.”

Lucien’s eyes flickered with something—relief, hope. “Done. And I’ll work every day to earn that trust back. But please, Evelyn—don’t doubt what I feel for you. You’re my mate. You’re everything to me.”

For a moment, I just looked at him, my heart racing. Then I opened my arms. “Come here, you idiot.”

Lucien didn’t hesitate. He stepped into my embrace, his arms wrapping tightly around me. A wave of relief washed over me as I pressed my face against his chest.

“Don’t think you’re forgiven because you’re not,” I mumbled into his shirt.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured, his hold tightening as if he never wanted to let go.

16

Evelyn

---