Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“I don’t understand,” Kassia whispered. She couldn’t imagine how the professor, who was always the perfect gentleman in school, could be involved in any kind of fight.
“I beat people up, Kassia.”
She stiffened. “You beat up...anyone?”
“Never without provocation but...” His lips twisted. “Even though I know someone doesn’t stand a chance against me, I don’t let it stop me. There were times when the rage completely took over me and I knew I could have killed any of them – and I might have, if Domenico or Alessandro wasn’t there to stop me.”
Kassia didn’t know what to think. His words painted a horrible picture, but on the other hand, it wasn’t enough to make her hate him. “Is t-this what you lied about?”
Her heart broke when he answered, “I’m afraid not.”
She fought back tears of frustration. “Then tell me!” His chest heaved at her words, but even so, she couldn’t make herself take it back.
Alessandro closed his eyes, knowing that once he spoke his next words, there would be no turning back. “Domenico wanted me to stop fighting because he knew it was only a matter of time I would end up dead or I’d kill someone. He also knew, however, that reasoning with me wouldn’t do any good. He promised me something I wanted, something that would make me stop fighting if I could find a woman I could fuck for thirty days straight.”
The world around Kassia started spinning a little too fast for her. “Are you saying that I’m t-that woman?” Her voice shook. “Are you saying that y-you chose me because of a b-bet?”
Slowly, the professor nodded.
A cry escaped her, one filled with so much pain it had Alessandro flinching. She tried to wrench away, but he had already expected her to, and his arms tightened around her the moment she tried to escape.
“I’m telling you this because I know the truth always has a way of coming out, Kassia.” His voice was tight and strained. “I’m telling you because I want you to know that even though I chose you for the wrong reasons, I kept wanting you to stay for the right ones. I want you in my life because I love you.” He paused, looked at Kassia, and the truth stared back at him from her eyes. This was the girl he would always love.
And so he took the plunge.
“That’s why I told you everything about me, Kassia. My weaknesses, my secrets, everything, even the fact that I’m not human.”
Everyone in the ballroom went still at the words, the silence only broken by the soft gasp of horror that came from his sister, Esmeralda, followed by the sound of Domenico cursing under his breath and his twin Alejandro demanding an explanation.
And finally, there were footsteps, all coming from the other end of the ballroom – soldiers of the Lyccan Council intent on reaching Alessandro.
Any sane man would have made a run for it, but the thought didn’t even cross his mind. He only had eyes for Kassia, his heart only beating for her. “Look at me, baby.” Tightening his hold on her, he implored tautly, “See the truth in my eyes.”
Sobs clogging her throat, Kassia told herself that the professor had to be lying again. He kept blowing hot and cold, kept playing with her heart like it was a cheap toy. When would she ever learn?
Without meeting his gaze, she whispered painfully, “The only truth I know is that I’d be a fool to believe in you again, Professor.” She closed her eyes, and tears burned the back of her eyelids, begging to be released. “No other man might ever make me happy the way you could, but I don’t think anyone can hurt me the way you keep—-”
“Please, Kassia.” The hurt in her voice lashed at him, and Alessandro knew that no matter how long he would live, he would never be able to forget how defeated Kassia sounded now. “Believe in me one last time. Please.”
But Kassia only shook her head. “I just feel like everything’s a game between us, Professor, and that...the first time I told you about my feelings, you made a bet with me, and then when I won the bet, you slept with another woman. Now, when I think I’m almost...” Pain ripped at her as she thought about the professor’s newest lie. “You tell me you made another bet, and that to you I was just some girl you could—-” Unable to continue speaking without breaking down, she choked out, “Please just leave me alone, Professor. Please.”
Alessandro’s hands fell, and the moment she was free, she spun around and walked away, never looking back, leaving the professor without knowing that with every step she took, she was unknowingly pushing him closer towards the execution block.
The truth about Lyccans could only be revealed to humans who were either future mates or bound by blood oaths, and it was clear for everyone to see that Kassia was...neither.