Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Ronan

Standing before Charlotte, I wait for her to speak. The loneliness that invades my heart is apparent on my face. I am no longer trying to mask my feelings. I want her to see the regret I feel.

She isn’t the girl I’d publicly rejected.

Moonlight catches in her hair, casting silver fire through the strands. Her eyes meet mine with a steadiness that cuts me deeper than any blade. She doesn’t look away. I don’t intimate her, and it is the most attractive thing I have ever encountered.

For the first time in my life, my wolf is quiet. Not out of peace, but out of awe.

“Charlotte.” Her name scrapes out of me. My hand twitches at my side, aching to touch her. “Can we speak alone?”

The chorus of growls behind her tells me that the other men won’t willingly leave her side. They are tied to her just as I am.

A long sigh escapes her lips as she looks over her shoulder. It’s okay. You can go.

The three men look between each other, as if having a silent conversation. They don’t trust me, and I can’t say that I blame them. The demon is the first to step forward, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

“We won’t be far.”

I remain silent as they walk away.

“Are they friends?” I ask stupidly.

Charlotte snorts. “No. They hate each other.”

I don’t respond immediately, and she shuffles awkwardly on her feet. I don’t miss how she continues to glance in their direction, and I hate that she feels comfort in their presence but not mine.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” She finally breaks the silence.

“Come back with me. To Blackthorn.” The words fly from my mouth in a jumbled mess.

Her lips part, but no softness follows. Only a sharp inhale and a bitter laugh.

“You think I would go back? After you publicly rejected me?”

I clench my fists. The words stung more than I’d admit. “I did what I had to do for my pack.”

“You broke me.” Her tone is steady, each word a nail in my coffin. “You didn’t protect me. You abandoned me.”

Thorne snarls angrily, ‘Claim her. She is ours.’

I press him back, my jaw aching from the effort. “I regret it every day. Not a breath passes that I don’t feel the loss. But I can fix it. We can fix it. Blackthorn is your home, Charlotte. My home. Ours.”

Her gaze hardens, a wall of steel. “No. My home is where I am chosen. Where I am wanted, and it isn’t Blackthorn.”

The rejection is sharper than when I’d given it to her. I had convinced myself that Blackthorne would be better without her. Now, standing here, I realize the truth: I’d severed something sacred, and the wound still bled.

“You mother,” I try a different tactic. “She is unwell. Do you not want to see her?”

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Her gaze turns colder than it already is. “She is not my mother. No mother would have treated me the way she did. Let her die.”

I am shocked by her cruel words. “You don’t mean that. There must have been a time when she cared for you.”

Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, her nose wrinkles. “No. It was only my father who loved me.”

“Please,” I beg. “You belong with me.”

Rolling her eyes, she steps away from me. “I belong where I am wanted.”

“I’ll fight for you,” I swear, stepping closer despite the way she bristles. “Every hunter, every rival, every god who dares touch you; I’ll tear them down. But I can’t do it, without

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“You had your chance, Ronan.” Her voice cracks, but from the weight of her fury. “And you threw it away.”

I reach for her hand, needing to feel the spark of the bond I once felt. She pulls back before I can touch her, and the emptiness nearly pulls me to my knees.

“I’ll wait, then,” I say, softer, a vow that tastes like blood. “I’ll wait until you see that no one will ever love you like I do. Not the demon. Not the others. No one.”

Her eyes burn with unshed tears, but her voice is unshakable. “Then you’ll be waiting a long time.”

I stand in the ruin of my own making, watching her walk away from me. Each step tears me open wider. My wolf howls, broken and furious, but I don’t call her back.

Because I know she won’t return to me, not yet.

I watch as she collapses into the arms of the Beta, and the other two men bristle at her choice. He strokes her hair gently, whispering something to her that I can’t hear. The rogue doesn’t take his eyes off me, and even from this distance, I can see the threat in his eyes.

“You need to let her go,” Alpha Luca says from beside me.

I jump at the sound of his voice. “I won’t.”

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