Dark Fates: Mated to my Ex's Uncle

Chapter 4

ELIJAH

My patience for her continued silliness snapped at that moment I heard those words.

My lips curled up in a cruel smirk. Reject her?

I was incensed, to say the least, for her to even suggest that.

I took a step forward, seeing her begin to stammer and bluster in an obvious panic.

“I… I only heard about it from someone!” She spoke in a trembling voice, raising her hands in a gesture to calm me down. “I-It’s just a suggestion. You don’t have to take it so seriously—oh!”

She nearly fell, tripping over the carpet. In one swift move I tugged her close, pulling her to me. Her pulse resounded in my veins, her scent tingling my nostrils as I inhaled sharply.

“Do you,” I ground out in a low growl, my voice dipping in pitch. “Even know what it means to reject one’s mate?”

Watching her shake her head with widened eyes, some calmness returned to my body. She truly had no idea, did she?

“I… is it really that bad?” Her voice became ever smaller with each word she said until it was barely a whisper.

“You’re insane to suggest such a thing, Reislyn,” I snapped, watching her face grow even paler.

Calm, I thought, shutting my eyes briefly. I needed to stay calm.

She was not trying to be malicious. She wasn’t trying to get me killed.

With a long exhale I began to explain, the words leaving my lips in a low hiss.

“Rejection of one’s mate isn't so hard as much as it is destructive,” I stated. It was practically the reason why many would rather spend their lives in a loveless arrangement than to reject each other. “It has a lifelong effect on both parties.”

Her lips parted but she didn’t say a word, her confusion was evident, from the way she furrowed her brows to the doubtful look in her eyes.

I released her, and she stumbled a little, straightening as I asked her, “Did whoever explained that to you tell you that rejecting someone was a death sentence?”

She gasped, “What? A death sentence?”

“Exactly. You know nothing,” I chuckled sardonically, straightening my clothes unconsciously as I continued. “It is common knowledge among Shifters, but I suppose your kind wouldn’t care unless it affected you. Shifters who reject their mates are faced with not just social consequences, but physical ones.”

“Oh.” She paused, then, in a mildly timid voice, asked, “Like… what physical consequences exactly?”

“Like losing the ability to shift, Reislyn. Permanently. And even you would be harmed. Being a witch doesn’t make you immune to the consequences of rejecting a fated bond.” I smirked at her, watching her pale even further. “Would you still like to perform magic during your lifetime, witch?”

She swallowed, flinching as though I had struck her. I chuckled at that. So innocent she was.

“I’m sorry for suggesting that then.”

“You should be. I am magnanimous enough to promise you a good life by my side. This mate bond is non-negotiable.”

I had spent many of his lifetime fighting against the stigma of being an incubus and a bastard child of the Corbyns. To make things worse, I had also spent much of my adult life fending off women who sought to gain from me.

My reputation was everything to me, and the one thing I had been unable to do haunted me before now. As an incubus, it has been long rumoured that I would be unable to find a mate, much less feel love for one. No matter how much money I made, or how large my net worth grew, the rumours persisted, to the point that the Corbyns waited for a chance to cause a scandal.

That was the last thing I wanted.

Now that I had her, I wasn’t planning on letting her go.

“Besides, this situation would be beneficial,” I stated, adjusting my cuff links.

“To you, but not me,” Reislyn retorted, crossing her arms. The mini dress she wore was hiked up a little, exposing more of her lovely, long legs. “I’ll be honest and say that I don’t want anything from you, Elijah Corbyn.”

At those words, I raised a brow.

“Tell me, Reislyn. Do you remember exactly how we ended up in my bed last night?”

It was clear to me that she didn’t.

Her cheeks instantly flushed a faint hue of red, and I swore I saw sparks on her fingertips as she raised her hand to point at me.

“You were the one who took advantage of me,” she raised her voice. “I… I was drunk.”

“You say that, but you weren’t so keen to let me go.” I chuckled, shaking my head at her outrage. Truly, how adorable. “You kept clinging to me, saying you needed a change. Consider this an offer to help you get that.”

“I meant a change of pace! Or— maybe my wardrobe, not a damn mate bond!” She stomped her feet, her face reddening even more. “Besides, I don’t love you.”

“And I feel the same way. But this mate bond cannot be ignored. Love has nothing to do with it. All you have to do is act as a mate should. Like a lover would. And we would carry on in public. Be a loving couple, and eventually marry. You wouldn’t lack for anything.” My voice grew softer. I really wanted her to agree. Forcing her would take a lot more trouble than it was worth.

Already her background checks had come back, and from what I found out, she had connections in the governing council of the witches. There would be consequences if I simply kept her prisoner. Consequences that could mean war.

Reislyn stared at me, and for the life of me I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

But suddenly she spoke, her voice a lot softer. I was so sure she was about to agree to my offer, but then she shocked me once again.

“Um,” she faltered a little but breathed in and let it all slip. “I have something to tell you. About my past.”