He let out a deep breath, glancing down before looking me square in the face. “When a were finds his mate, whether she’s human or another were, there’s no doubt they’re true mates. Because of the curse placed upon you, you’re neither were nor human anymore. I know your feelings for me are strong. I can sense them. Hell, I can practically touch them. But it’s possible that you’re meant to love another more.” His tone was harsh and broken. “I never wanted you to know this, but I love you too damn much to keep it from you any longer.”

Angry tears leaked from my eyes, wetting my scorching cheeks. I was livid, breaking from his hold when he tried to pull me against him.

I stood, facing the doors leading to the bathroom, working not to rip them from their hinges and fling them through the wall of glass leading out to the terrace.

When I turned back to Aric, I could barely control my voice. “After all we’ve been through and all we’ve lost, you really think I’m meant to be with someone else?”

Aric watched me carefully, sensing my growing anger. “It’s not that I don’t think you care for me—”

“Care for you? Are you trying to tell me that I don’t love you—or that I haven’t loved you enough?” I stormed into the bathroom and started pulling on my clothes when he didn’t answer.

Aric stood, meeting me in the doorway when I stomped out. “Celia, where are you going?” he asked, his voice gruff.

“Away from you!” I pointed my finger at him. “You’re wrong, Aric. The only being who can keep us apart is you. I want to love you—it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But you never let me!”

I rushed past him and pulled on my shoes. Aric tried to gather me to him. “Celia, I’m not trying to push you away.”

“But you are. And it’s not the first time, is it?” I accused. “Look at everything you’ve done since we’ve met to keep me away—all those times you walked away. That was never me, Aric. It was always you!”

I grunted with frustration when he wouldn’t answer. His eyes fired with anger and his hands balled into fists at his sides. The huge lump in my throat expanded, threatening to cut off my air. “I mean it when I say I love you. I mean it when I say forever. You insult me by calling me a liar.”

His frown vanished, my words demonstrating how badly he’d hurt me. Without thinking, I passed my hand across my belly. “If you don’t know how much I love you by now, maybe we really shouldn’t be together.”

Aric froze. I left without another word, slamming the door behind me.

I broke down the minute the elevator doors sealed tight. I was still crying when I crossed the lobby. Tim waited at the bar, his meal in the form of two blondes edging closer. He abandoned them when he saw me, his steps slowing when he caught me wiping my eyes.

“You okay?”

I nodded, but I clearly wasn’t.

Tim didn’t exactly ooze compassion. It was a lot for him to just ask how I was. He swiped at his bald head and bent to whisper in my ear. “Agnes thinks she found Shah. But she doesn’t trust the witches, and she wants to leave the beasts out for now. Can you move tonight?”

I thought about Aric back in the room and everything that he’d said.

“Yes,” I answered.

Chapter 13

I adjusted the straps of my tank and fiddled with the edge of my denim shorts for the millionth time. Emme checked her phone and turned toward me as the small plane carrying us over the Malaysian jungle swerved and bounced. She was looking pretty green from the ride, but it didn’t stop her from speaking. “Aric just texted me again. He says he’s sorry and wants to talk.”

I shook my head and didn’t respond. Whether it was the stress from my fight with Aric or our encounter with Dilip and his crocs, I couldn’t be sure, but two waves of painful spasms had racked my body since I’d left Aric. The first I’d somehow breathed through. The second had me curling on the bathroom floor where I’d changed out of my dress. I’d managed to hide the attacks from my sisters and the vamps, but I was sure they’d return. I only hoped they’d subside long enough for me to complete my task and find Shah.

“Celia,” Emme pleaded, trying to draw my attention. “He seems really upset, sweetie.”

“Leave her alone, Emme,” Taran said. She tucked her zombie limb beneath her shirt. “They need time apart.” She glanced at Shayna, who kept scratching the area between her breasts. “Hell, we all need some time away from the furries.”

Shayna growled, or at least she tried to. Truth be told, for all the were blood coursing through her veins she was more puppy than predator. “I can’t believe Koda has the nerve to be mad at me. He was all like, ‘You jeopardized the mission, baby,’ ” she said, trying rather sadly to imitate his deep voice. “ ‘It was all for show. The mission is our top priority. The mission is what’s important. The mission can’t be compromised. You overreacted. Blah, blah, blah. Put the knife down. Blah, blah, blah. I can’t let you stab her. She was just part of the mission.’ Mission, mission, mission. Well, do you know what I told him?”

“What?” the rest of us muttered.

“That next time the mission involved anything in his pants, to find a new Bond girl to take care of it.”

This caught Taran’s attention. “Did you really say that?”

“Well, no,” Shayna admitted. “Mostly I just called the girl he was dancing with a tramp and walked away.”

“Oh,” the rest of us said.

I glanced out the window as the plane swept over the tall trees. “Do you want to talk about it?” Emme asked me quietly.

Not really. But I did anyway. “Something’s not right with Aric.” It pained me to say it out loud. “I’ve noticed a shift in his behavior since he asked me to marry him. He’s so irritable toward everyone and we rarely make love anymore.”

It was my last comment that struck a chord. You could say everyone knew Aric and I used to do it like wererabbits. Taran quirked her brow. “You and he don’t have sex anymore?”

“Not like we used to,” I admitted. “He’s exhausted all the time and pretty much loses consciousness once he crawls into bed. We only made love once last week. It was nice, real nice, but I was the one who instigated it and he fell asleep immediately after.”