Page 76 of His Sold Fated Mate

“I’m not hurt, Klaus.”

“You are! And it’s not worse because I moved away. You’re not hurt more because I’m thinking smarter than you are right now.”

The smell of her was filling the room. I moved off the bed, pulling my pants back on. “You need to leave.”

“Klaus.”

“Now!” I snarled.

I watched her grab at her pants, tugging them back on. She shook her head as she looked at me. “I’ll come back later.”

“Don’t,” I snapped. “Because one of us needs to have some self-control since it’s clear you won’t.”

She paused for a moment before she turned to the door. She pulled it open and stepped out without saying a word.

The moment she left, I felt the tug. My insides curled up, and I missed her. I sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly wanting to take my words back.

You idiot. Do you have any idea what you just did? She was trying to help you. She was being honest. Why couldn’t you return the favor?

Because I was trying to protect her, I never wanted to hurt her, even in a minor way. I would never forgive myself if I hurt her.

It hit me just how badly I wanted Aubrey. Not in a physical way but emotionally. How I looked forward to seeing her smile and listening to her voice. I’d known for a while that this wasn’t something simple. I loved her. And that scared me more than anything else.

Chapter 22 - Aubrey

I stepped outside and felt tears bloom from his words. But I also knew that Klaus hadn’t meant it. I wasn’t stupid. I knew that Klaus was pushing me away because he was scared. I understood that. I was scared. But why couldn’t we be scared together?

I opened my eyes and took in the quiet. I glanced down the hallway, and I could see a couple of workers who had stopped. I’m sure they could hear what happened and were probably wondering what had happened.

I wiped my eyes and turned, heading out. I drove back to the house and took a shower. I had to get the smell of us off of us. I stood under the water for a long time, letting the water flow over me.

But I could still feel his arms wrapped around me. The way he held me, even when he was chained up. Klaus was in there. I knew it.

I reached a hand up to my neck, feeling where his teeth had been. I swallowed. I wouldn’t let him succumb to the darkness.

After I got out, I headed to the library. I went straight up to the magic section, determined to find the answer. It had to be within the pages of the book. There was no way that the answers weren’t here.

Janella and Elize had gone through all of the books that they owned. Klaus and I had gone through all of these books, and still we hadn’t found an answer. But maybe we missed something.

I stared at the book in my lap, feeling my eyes were starting to burn from staring at the text for so long. I slid the book off my lap and scanned the space. I had books piled around me, pages marked and dog-eared.

I leaned back against the bookshelf and closed my eyes. I felt tears welling up as I thought about all the work that had been done and that we had no answers.

I felt like I was failing. Klaus brought me here to help him, and instead, we’d gotten nowhere. He was chained up, and I was alone.

I opened my eyes and felt them falling free. It was like someone had reached a hand into my chest and was twisting everything up. I shouldn’t have cared as much as I did. When did it all start to change? When did I start feeling like I belonged here?

Maybe because Klaus wasn’t like anyone else, he cared about me. Klaus was grumpy, but he was never harsh. He liked his space to be quiet, but I understood why. It was peaceful in a world of noise.

And he noticed the little things. He left me dinner if I came home late and left snacks in the cabinet because he knew that I liked them. Even when I was crying in the bathroom when I first arrived here, he stood and offered me a gentle shoulder. He protected me from everything and opened his house up to me. He was sweet, and when he held me, I felt like nothing could harm me.

And I loved him.

I suddenly couldn’t breathe as those words sank in. I loved him, and I couldn’t save him from what was going on. I’d been running for so long, and Klaus freed me. And now he was the one who needed help, and I was unable to do anything.

I grabbed the book and threw it across the space. I felt more tears break free and wanted to scream. I hated how unfair everything was. How we were working our asses off for answers, and that we weren’t getting anywhere.

“You okay?”