Page 31 of The Storm
He was struck dumb.Of course I love you.It was the first time she’d actually said it.
“There is a woman out there,” she continued, “created by heaven, who will be your perfect mate.” She choked on the last word and Max’s heart broke. “She’s made for you, Maxim. She will love you in ways I never could.”
Max whispered, “Renata.”
“Don’t!” She held up a hand. “I want you to imagine that for a moment. Really and truly imagine it. Imagine marking me as your mate. You can’t take that back, Max. That bond is only broken in death. Imagine marking me and then meetingher.”
Max wanted to put his mark on her more than anything in their dark and twisted world, but Renata was still talking.
“If I let this happen,” she continued, “letushappen—you will meet her and resent me for eternity for stealing that from you. Always knowing that she was your best match, your truest match, but instead you mated me.” She blinked away tears. “Areyouenough? Max, that was never the question.”
“Don’t do this to us.” He walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “If you love me, don’t push me away.”
She pressed her hand over his heart. “I need to do what is right, even if you don’t understand why.”
Heaven above, her fierce heart. Renata had walls—plenty of them—but she was so ferociously protective. She owned him.
“You’re thinking about this backward,” Max said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Has it never occurred to you that myreshonwas lost too?”
Her eyes went wide, and Max knew it had never crossed her mind.
“Renata, most of the women in our race were killed during the Rending. The Irin birth rate dropped almost to nothing after the Irina went into hiding. Maybe I do have areshonout there, but the chances are greater that she’s gone.”
She said nothing, but he could see that his words had made an impact.
“Thousands of Irin have met and mated through our history with the mate of their choice. No one is guaranteed areshon.”
Her face remained carefully blank.
“But beyond all that,” Max said, “we are creatures of free will. That is the gift that separates us from the monsters. And if we have a will, then my choice is you. It will always be you.” Max bent and kissed Renata’s forehead right over Balien’s mark. “And I’m sorry. I am sorry, Renata. I was angry and I shouldn’t have used him against you. That was wrong.”
“I’ve never compared you to Balien,” she said woodenly. “That’s not what this is about.”
“What we have—right here, right now, with each other—is precious. Maybe we aren’treshon, but you can’t tell me we’re not meant. I love you and I want a life with you. I don’t want to wait when heaven has already given me a precious gift.”
She shook her head. “But if she is out there—”
“If she’s out there, then nothing. It’s you I want.” He squeezed her shoulders. “I would have you as my mate, Renata. I want that more than anything. And nothing would change that bond. You are my choice. You are the one I want. That is all that matters.”
Renata was silent.
“Say it again,” he whispered.
She frowned.
“Tell me you love me,” he said. “I’ve been waiting to hear it for a very long time.”
“I love you.” Her eyes were defiant and still a little angry. “Don’t ever question that.”
“And I love you. Think aboutthatwhen you decide if you’re willing to make a home with me. Don’t think about what might be. Think about what is.” He wrapped his arms around her. “And you’re right. Iwasthinking about hiking down the mountain, but you changed my mind. You’re stuck with me now.”
* * *
They madelove in front of the fire, and this time Max fell asleep with Renata wrapped in his arms. They slept long and hard, through the early morning when the snow and wind returned. They lay tangled together in front of the fire and listened to the wind together.
