Page 57 of Anaki

My mate didn’t look convinced, but what could I have said? My late mate rejected me, broke me, and if you reject me, too, I have no hope? I wanted her to choose me, but not for her pity.

Elena leaned forward, her forehead meeting mine. I let out a sigh of relief, feeling her touch. “Oh baby, who hurt you?” she whispered to me. Elena rubbed her face along my cheek, across my nose, and met the other side of my face. My dragon purred, reveling that our mate touched us, felt us, comforted us.

Her warm hands pressed to my chest, and her lips landed on mine for a precious kiss. “You are the sweetest person I have ever met. Thank you for being honest with me.”

I held my breath as I waited for the rejection.

“And I am falling for you far faster than I should.”

My breath caught, and my hearts pounded in my chest. Relief suddenly flooded my entire body.

Chapter Eighteen

Elena

Anaki and I walked up to the bar, our fingers intertwined. The streets were busy with people doing their usual shopping, and cars driving by. As the end of spring approached and summer was around the corner, it was still unusually chilly for my taste. When a gentle breeze blew by, I would feel the cool air nip at my nose. The light sweater I brought did little to shield my usually toasty skin.

My nose ran, and I wiggled my nose several times with the back of my hand. Anaki was observant and immediately thought the worst.

I knew it was the weather because I was used to the scorching sun, but Anaki thought the world was ending, because apparently ‘humans had terrible immune systems.’ He demanded that I see Nadia and have her check on me. She was studying to be a doctor for the club and was also his good friend. The way he worried was so damn cute I couldn’t say no.

Not when his words from earlier this morning hung heavily on my heart.

If this were an ordinary man, a human, I would have reservations about all these emotions. He could twist his words, play at my emotions, and use coercion to make me stay with him. This was Anaki, though, and this strange connection that I felt with him was strong. I felt the truth in hiswords that I was his world.

Behind those tearful eyes, however, I saw something much, much deeper.

Someone had caused him immense pain, someone vile and evil had crushed his soul. My heart burned with a deep desire to seek this person and bring them to justice, to make them pay for the harm they had inflicted on such a kind soul. Though I had only known Anaki for a few days, I could never imagine this sweet, gentle person hurting anyone.

Anaki possessed an amazing humor and a caring nature, showing genuine concern for Luis and treating me as though I were the most precious woman in the world. Our time together felt like a dream, one that I never wanted to wake up from.

Despite my overwhelming adoration for him, I couldn't deny the fear that coursed through me. This was too much, too fast. A dragon had declared his love for me mere days after meeting me, claiming his very soul belonged to me. It was a whirlwind of emotions, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to handle the weight of it all.

He said his soul belonged to me. Who says that? That should be in a damn proposal. It made me melt, made me want to take it and cherish it so no one would ever hurt him again.

Did I really want that?

I did, I really did.

I couldn't shake off the memories of Abuela's words about soul mates. They had always seemed silly to me, but now they were haunting me. Emm would scoff at Abuela’s tangents. I was young and naive and wanted to be just like my big, bad ass sister, so I ignored Abuela, too. But now, I couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to it all.

Was I missing out on something by being closed off to the idea of a soul mate? My mind was torn between embracing and rejecting the concept.

If I thought hard enough, I could remember Abuela dancing naked in the woods. She told us as we walked out into the woods that she would ask someone for a blessing. I was thinking it would be a priest. Obviously, that didn’t happen. She had an enormous pile of wood set up for a fire, lit it, and stripped down. Then there was a prayer. She threw her hands up, powder going into the fire. She called out to the… Moon Goddess. She stood still, staring up into the sky, unmoving.

Emm took me to a tent to sleep after that.

I rubbed my head. I could just ask Abuela about what had happened. She could have had a stroke while she stared up into the sky, and that was why she did that.

Was it worth looking into now?

Probably, because she knew more about these people than Luis and I did.

I popped my lips together when Anaki opened the front door of the club. It was a way to rid myself of all the thoughts in my head and bring me to the now. The old door creaked, and the bar was much quieter than the night before.

The bar was covered in a thick haze of smoke, creating a hazy atmosphere that made it difficult to see across the room. The clinking of glasses and murmurs of conversations created a calm atmosphere. Anaki winced and put his finger inside his ear to shake it.

“You alright?” I asked, squeezing his hand.

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