Fable of Happiness (Fable #2) by Pepper Winters

Years?

Years!?

I threw the book at the fucking wall and howled.





CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

HIS HOWL TORE RIGHT through me.

I flinched on the couch in the games room, gripping my hands together between my legs, staring at the many animal skins and chessboards with tears in my eyes.

He sounded absolutely wretched.

God, I’m sorry.

He howled again, reminding me of the night in my tent when I’d heard an animal suffering. It wasn’t an animal that night. It was him. I’d heard Kas that night and somehow, without even knowing it, I’d been searching for him to put him out of his misery ever since.

I’d found him.

Yet I’d only increased his misery.

I hugged myself, rocking on the couch.

My heart pounded with pain. I was too bruised to even cry. Goosebumps prickled down my spine each time I thought about last night. How incredible it’d been to be touched by him, kissed by him, wanted and adored and appreciated by him.

But now...all of that is gone.

He’d proven that very eloquently.

He had no memory. None. Zip. Not a spec.

I alone had the precious recollection of how it’d felt to lie with him in hot water and know I’d found the one person I belonged to.

I was lucky, I supposed.

Lucky to have us when Kas was back to thinking we were enemies.

I’m not your enemy, Kas.

Never again.

Kas groaned, the vibrations of his despair echoing through the house.

My eyes prickled as I choked on a breath.

I’d left to get some perspective. I’d removed myself from his presence so I could grapple with the hardest decision of my life. Last night, I’d given my heart to a man for the very first time. I’d had stars in my eyes that things would be better now. That just because I was willing to share myself with him, all our troubles were over.

I sighed.

That isn’t the case at all.

We were back at the beginning.

And what I needed to decide now was...just how strong am I?

Just a few weeks ago, I would never have imagined I’d have the capacity to, not only sit here and contemplate all the ways I was willing to fight for him, but have faith that all my endless hope would be worth it.

He would yell, shout, curse, and deny, but in the end...he would know.

I’ll make him know.

He would come to understand that in this situation, I was stronger than him. I wouldn’t let him frighten me away. I wouldn’t permit him to scare me into silence.

I wasn’t weak-minded or stupid for not going home. I wasn’t turning my back on my family by choosing him over them.

In the end, I was choosing myself.

Because I chose you, Kas.

And you need help.

Standing, I smoothed down my peach dress and inhaled deeply.

I’d taken the necessary time to hold my decision, to pet it, examine it, and accept that there truly was no going back.

No matter the pain. The frustration. The tears.

No matter the setbacks, the inevitable arguments, the many, many struggles.

I was his, for better or for worse.

If I could be strong enough. If I could somehow, someway, grant him the peace he so desperately needed, then I stood the chance of claiming my soul-mate in return.

And wasn’t that the greatest prize of all?

Wasn’t that worth fighting for?

Kas made another noise, heart-wrenching and agonizing and my body made the final choice for me. I balled my hands and crossed through the games room back into the library.

He sat hunched over in the wingback, rocking over his broken arm as if it was the source of all his despair. His long hair obscured his face, his bare feet and casual clothing so at odds with the regal richness of this ivy-draped mansion. A book lay open on the floor by the wall, a dent in the hardcover binding.

My heart squeezed as I went to him.

He didn’t say a word as I hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder and kneaded the tension in his muscle.

The connection.

The chemistry, kinship, and armistice that’d given us a fresh beginning last night could be found again. I merely had to be strong enough to survive him.

Slowly, he lifted his head, his good hand still locked over the cast I’d put on his arm. “I’m sorry.”

All the strength in my spine vanished, making me tremble before a new kind of power replaced it. This time, it was pure and possessive and I was ready to fight. I was no longer willing to let him take command and lead both of us into darkness. Here and now, I was in charge.

Moving to stand in front of him, I tipped his chin up with my fingers.

He sucked in a breath as he looked up; the open torture in his eyes undid me. He was a man stripping himself bare and reaching the same decision I had.

He needed help.

“If you want to know what happened last night, I will tell you everything. If it’s too hard to hear, then I won’t. It’s enough for me to know that it happened. It will be the rock I’ll cling to when times get hard. When you say things that hurt me, I’ll remember your whispers in the bath. When you upset me, I’ll recall the level of intensity that brought us together. But I must warn you, Kassen, things will be different from now on.”

I cupped his cheek, stroking his scruff. “Last night, you gave me the right to use your name. You dropped your walls and let me in. You showed me who I’m fighting for. And in doing so, we became friends. You don’t need to remember. You don’t even have to accept what I’m saying is real. You just have to...see me. See me and you’ll eventually figure out what is true.”