Page 38 of Bullied Mate

“Itistrue, Galanthia. And I don’t think you realize you’re doing it.” Some of his anger faded, but not much. “You’re being cold. I don’t get it. You keep using me and then throwing me away.”

I puffed up. “That is most certainly not true, Xavier. You’ve been usingmethis entire time.”

“That’s stupid.”

“I beg your pardon!”

He pointed to the tiles. “Alright, then. Beg.”

“You dare reduce me to such submissive notions.”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, darling. But your subby nature comes right out when we’re fucking in a field. You like it when I’m in control. So, I’m taking control.”

Agitation forced my teeth to grind. “How preposterous.”

“Big words for big feelings.”

“You’re just mocking me now.”

He clapped his hands together sarcastically. “Good job. You’re finally catching on.”

“You don’t have to be rude when you’re telling me your feelings.”

“And you don’t have to ignore me.”

This was a standoff if I’d ever experienced one. On one hand, we were entirely correct to defend our positions. Yet at every attempt for resolution, we were thwarted. Why was this happening to us?

The most sound of reasons was the most obvious—he had been using me this entire time. He was just a bully trying to govern my every thought, feeling, and move.

I stood my ground. “Why is it that you only ever want me in the dark? Are you ashamed of me?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m more than serious, Xavier.”

He shook his head while crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what you expect. Should we be fucking in public? Do you want to go to a club and show everyone how much you love being used by me?”

What an atrocious thing to suggest. The full weight of it slammed right into my side like a magical bomb detonating in a war field. Silence took my ears for a split second, and then I heard the awful grinding of my brain pulling yet another terrible memory to the surface.

“I’ve been to one of those places,” I explained in a low voice, “and it was calledMoss.”

Molecular vibrations echoing from our mutual frustration ceased abruptly. Xavier stared at me with pupils so wide that I couldn’t see his irises.

A lump had formed in my throat. I spoke around it as best I could. “Juriah got caught up in that mess. We never quite figured out whether those people were watching him in that room with his mate.”

“Galanthia—”

“Do you know what pure fear sounds like coming from someone’s aura?” I stepped toward him, enigmatic power dripping from my stance. “Do you know what itfeelslike when someone’s lifeforce disappears?”

His brows drew together with determination. “This isn’t fair.”

“What isn’t fair is being dragged around by a pompous ass who hasn’t the foggiest clue how to interact with women.” I took another step toward him, towering in my ever-eternal Elderling form, plaster from the ceiling raining around me. “What isn’t fair is the wretched cries of those lost to the underground trafficking ring that nearly took the lives of those dear to me!”

Xavier recoiled. Symphonic triumph coiled around me as my power capped. Bolts of golden light zigzagged over my arms and fingers, a testament to the things that I could do—but I wouldn’t.

Harm was unnecessary in this case. By the scent of him, I’d say that I had scared him enough with my potential.

Lifeforce. The mere mention of it made me hungry for things that were forbidden here and in Estaria. Lifeforce had motivated me on the battlefield, where we had been permitted to consume the lifeforce of our enemies. Some Elderlings didn’t survive the addictive behaviors that developed.

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