Vulnerable: Book 1 of the Magic Mutations Series | ✓

52: Forbidden Love and Fickle Hearts

Lukas was waiting by the edge of the pool, back turned to me when I lowered myself into the water. I waded over to him, splashing him with water from behind.

"I thought you'd never come," he said as he turned around, a grin on his face. Though the smile fell the moment he saw me. "What happened?"

"The usual. Another fight." I glanced up at the hotel, wary of whether he could hear.

Noticing, Lukas tugged lightly on my wrist and pulled me over to the waterfall. We ducked under, sitting in the little alcove, our voices echoing around the cave yet drowned out slightly by the rushing of the water.

"What happened?" Lukas asked softly, just loud enough that I could hear him over the crashing noise.

"He is just on a jealousy spiral again... what did you two fight about while we were gone?"

"We didn't really fight." Though he was avoiding direct eye contact at that comment.

"Okay..."

"What is he jealous about?"

"It's nothing..."

"You sure? We can talk about it, Ollie. Could help you get some clarity."

"I'm not sure how... ethical it is."

"Why?"

Biting my lip, I stared at him momentarily, taking in the way the water had darkened his hair slightly, making his brown orbs glow a little more spectacularly as the blue shimmer of the pool bounced around the cave and off his eyes. The way his muscles were clearly displayed, speckled with droplets. The way his scars over his torso seemed more apparent, even in the dimness of the cave. "Because he's jealous of you."

"Me?"

"Our friendship..."

"He could get himself a friend."

"He'd rather I only focus on him. My life has to revolve around him and him only." I sighed and leaned against the stone wall. "I feel like these days the fights are just more frequent. Like if we aren't kissing or if he isn't feeding from me or if we aren't... we're just fighting. Conversation doesn't seem to work with the two of us anymore. It's as though only the bond is keeping us together. It's intimacy or arguing."

Lukas remained quiet, not saying anything. I wondered if he was just giving me the chance to talk or if he felt awkward intruding when he had been the subject matter of our fight.

But I kept going. "I wish I wasn't so stupid and just believed him when he said there was a bond invitation. Then we could have waited. I would have figured out..."

"You regret bonding with him?"

"I... I don't know. It's just all too much with him. It's never easy. What we have right now just feels so artificial, like I don't like him because I want to but because I have to. He asked me why he can't be my best friend... I didn't have the heart to tell him that it's because we aren't friends." I met Lukas's gaze at that one. His lips were pursed, not offering much for me to read. Was I being silly? Was I overreacting? He wasn't going to let me know.

I let my eyes trail over him again, fixating on a particularly puckered scar. This was the second time I had seen them since the truth or dare event almost a year ago. Wanting a distraction, I hesitantly raised my hand, running an unelectrified finger over its bumpy texture.

"What did he do to you?" I whispered.

"This was nothing," Lukas said, hand coming up to grab mine. But he didn't do what I expected; he didn't push me away. Instead, he traced his thumb up over the back of my hand, up the length of my finger that touched him, and then back down, until I moved my hand slowly back into the water.