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He was there, right before her eyes, though Annmarie could barely see his form through the thick rain that had poured outside. She made a move to speak, but Cedric’s hands came up to cup her cheeks, pressing his lips to hers in a desperate attempt for closeness, breathing her in like he was a dying man. He walked them back into the tiny cabin, never letting go of Annmarie as the door shut behind them.
It was only later, when they rested together, that she’d noticed all the extra wounds, something that her hallucinations had never sported. But he couldn’t be real; it had been two months and her heart felt as though it would tear in two every time he appeared, always fading away when morning came, or when her head was turned. Self-loathing filled her chest, thinking of just how stupid she’d been when following him, fingers touching the scar on her cheek, touching the missing part of her ear as she turned away from him. Soft sobs echoed in the small space as she cried, trying so desperately not to get attached to someone that wasn’t even there anymore.
A large arm curled around her shoulders, and she curled in on her body tighter, feeling the gentle touch of callused hands on her arms.
“Querida, talk to me.” The rumble of his voice filled her chest, and she sobbed a little harder as she pulled his hand tighter against her body. “Tell me what’s wrong.” Guilt wracked his voice, and she rolled to face him, hands grasping for purchase around his broad frame.
“This can’t be real. It feels too real, Cedric. You’re gone, and you’re not coming back.” She swallowed back another sob as his fingers brushed away her tears, warmth lingering on her cheeks as he pressed his lips to her forehead. “And I’m going mad in grief.”
Softly, he murmured to her, calming Annmarie down to where she laid on his chest, curled protectively in his arms. “It was a mistake leaving, mi preciosa. Never again. I’ll never leave your side again.”
A pained noise left her throat, and she felt the steady heartbeat underneath her fingers as she sighed out in exhaustion. “But you will...you won’t be here when I wake up. You’re not real.”
Cedric didn’t have time to respond as his mate fell asleep, tear-stained cheeks pressed against his shirt as guilt poured through his bones, weary from the past two months. Brushing his fingers against her forehead, down the line of her jaw, across her cheeks...Cedric mapped every inch of her face so he could never forget that he’d caused her this much anguish. He’d spend every moment trying to prove to her that he was real, that his love for her was real.
Even if it meant knowing that he might never get her back.