Page 104 of Claim Me
Realizing that all this pleasure will be short-lived.
Because these males are not truly mine. It doesn’t matter how much they feel connected to my soul. Everything was the result of a fractured spell.
And now they know.
Now they’ll hate me forever.
Leave me with the agony of one beautiful memory, destroyed by my nightmarish reality.
I swallow again and attempt to clear my throat. All three men are staring at me. Bane with open concern. Nox with growing suspicion. Kaspian with pure hatred.
I hurt them by not telling the truth.But… but…“I hoped it was real,” I admit in a whisper. “I…” It’s not an excuse. Not a good one, anyway. “It felt different with you. All of you.” Even Kaspian, really. “I never wanted Klas, even with… the magic. It was always forced.” My gaze falls. “But not with you.”
My shoulders curl down, and I suddenly feel more defeated than ever before.
Admitting how I feel, how desperate I am for this to be truly tied to fate, just leaves me feeling more inferior than ever.Weak. Because I know better. Iknowfate would never be this kind to me.
However, a naive, hopeful part of me wanted this so badly to be real.
But it’s not.
It’s a spell.
And when we break it, these men will never want to look at me again. Never want totalkto me again. Touch me. Be with me.
My eyes close as I try to keep my tears at bay.
I need to be strong. I need to face this. Facethem. It’s what I deserve. I should have told them the truth.
But I… I needed to protect…My brow furrows.Issy.
I force myself to meet Kaspian’s cruel gaze. “How…?”How do you know all this? Do you know the truth about Issy?I can’t bring myself to ask, my heart breaking even more.
Because if he knows about the Outcast Coven, it’s all over anyway. He’s going to send me back. Or maybe he’ll just kill me.
“I’ll break the spell… when I find out how.” The words are a whisper, my eyes falling closed again as pain prickles my insides.
Why did it never feel this way with Klas? Because he was evil? Because I hated him?
Maybe this pain stems from knowing what I could have had in this life. Bane and Nox were—
“I know how to break it,” Kaspian says. “Ayla told me.”
“A-ayla?” I force my gaze back to his, the coldness in his dark eyes making me shiver. “You talked to Ayla?”
“Who’s Ayla?” Bane asks, his voice still exuding calm.
“Fallon’s adopted cousin.” Kaspian folds his arms across his chest as Nox moves to his side, both men staring down at me with conflicting expressions. Kaspian appears ready to kill me, while Nox… Nox just looks… contemplative. Maybe he’s also thinking about killing me, but in more creative ways.
“I see.” Bane doesn’t join the other two men, instead choosing to sit on the bed beside me. “And she claims this is all a spell, one she told you how to break.”
Kaspian glances at him. “Yes. So Fallon is going to break it for us.” He refocuses on me, his stern expression holding me captive. “Right fucking now.”
My lower lip threatens to quiver, the notion of severing ties to these men making me feel cold all over. But I dip my chin in resignation, aware that I don’t have a choice in this matter.
They’re not mine to keep. Even if I want them.
“I never meant to hurt anyone,” I say, a slight tremble underlying my words. “I… I…”
