Castellanos - A Flame That Never Dies novel Chapter 8

I found Harmony on the bottom of the stairs. When she saw me, she decided to close the café for today. She never did that in the past ten years that I have been with her. Not even for all the fun that awaited her outside.

But I didn’t mind. I needed a company of a friend right now and I needed to be away from here. From him. Well, for now. But I don’t know if I can stay here for much longer.

When she gave me a spare change of clothes, we hit the road on her car. He didn’t say anything. But I felt his eyes on my back as I came out the house, until we turned around the corner.

I place my head on the window the whole journey. I kept blaming myself once again. Why do I keep hurting the people that I care about? That I lo-

My own thoughts stopped me when I realised what I was thinking. That can’t be. I can never.

A soft sigh leaves my lips and I close my eyes, listening to the low humming of the engine, my heart in internal turmoil of volcano on the verge of eruption.

When I felt the car stop, I open my eyes to look at the empty beach. She gets off the car and walks towards the front and I follow suit. She jumps on the hood of the car while I just lean my hips on the front, looking ahead at the vast ocean.

It’s scent almost inviting me.

I fold my arms and close my eyes, turning my face slightly upward. I inhale a lungful of air. “So, he’s your mate huh?” I hear Harmony’s calm voice against the soft splashes of the waves.

I open my eyes and turn my head to face her. It held an emotion that I couldn’t quite decipher. “Why did you run away from him Tess?” She says equally softly as the first time. I couldn’t even be mad at her when I saw the sadness in her face.

I take another deep breath and look ahead of me, but I could feel her eyes on my face. “Because I don’t deserve him.” I chuckle humourlessly.

I turn my head to her again. Her unique copper golden eyes flicker between mine as she tries to understand me. “I still don’t understand Tess. Why?” Her eyes squint even more as she fails to read me.

“I did something unforgiveable, Harmony. I almost made my brother lose his mate. I made Lucas suffer.” I grit my teeth but hold on to her eyes. “A mate for a mate. He suffered so I will suffer. I will feel his pain. I will live his pain.”

Harmony lets out a long breath and shakes her head. “Almost doesn’t mean he has lost her, Tess. You cannot-”

“But I did make his live miserable. I made his life a living hell. A year…” My lips trembles as I stand away from the car. “For a year, Harmony, he lived in constant pain. He lost a year of his life. His Lycan took over him. He-he…”

But she was still shaking her head. “And you lost twenty of yours.”

Her words made me pause for a second before I start shaking my head as well. “I had a choice. I chose to. He didn’t. She didn’t.” I felt the volcano boiling inside me again.

“What about him then? Does he not get a choice? A chance? A life with you?”

I close my eyes as I keep shaking my head. “You don’t understand.” I could feel the flames slowly spreading across my heart. “You won’t understand it.”