I got out of bed and stalked towards him.
“You’re a coward,” I spat, mingled hurt and fury blurring my vision as I rounded the corner of the bed to face him. “You say I’m your mate and then push me away. You say you’re giving up on breaking the curse right after you tell me we’re mates!”
“I am not going to risk your life–”
“You haven’t ever asked me what I want!” I could have screamed it. I could have woken every sleeping person in this village with the force of my rage. “You’ve shared my bed. You’ve kissed me. You’ve made me feel like–like this was something–”
“Losing you–”
“You knew from the beginning, didn’t you? You knew all along.” My heart was thundering against my ribs as I took another step toward him, my hands clenched into fists. “You said nothing to me about it but still came to me after the ball–”
“Do you think this has been easy for me? Do you really think all I meant to do was take advantage of you and then send you away?”