“Ash, I think you need to tell me about Gareth.”
CHAPTER 7
Ash
Ifroze, sure I couldn’t have heard him right. “What?”
“Gareth,” Lochlan repeated from between gritted teeth. His eyes were wild, glittering in the moonlight. “The person who’s been sending you threatening messages.”
My own temper rose up to meet his. “Did you go through my messages?”
Lochlan dropped my chin, looking stung. “Of course not. One came through while I was reading the ones from Cassie. I’d never invade your privacy like that.”
Lochlan isn’t Gareth.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know you wouldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t normally push you on this,” he gestured helplessly at my phone, “but I can’t ignore this. I can’t, Ash. He’sthreateningto hurt you.”
I let out a huff, shifting on my feet. “Can we discuss this back at my place? I’m freezing and this is a story better told over a cup of tea.”
“Fine,” Lochlan sighed, cupping the back of my neck and pulling me in. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I think about you being hurt, and I go a bit crazy.”
“It’s okay,” I closed my eyes and let his touch ground me. I wasn’t mad. Actually, I found his whole caveman protective schtick endearing. “It’s time I told you anyway. I would’ve before but it’s… well, it’s embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing?”
I pulled away from him, taking his hand in mine. “Come on. I’ll tell you the whole story when we get home.”
Sat at my kitchen table, my fingers drumming on the sides of my mug full of steaming tea, I began to talk.
It all came pouring out. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I told him about how Gareth and I met. The red flags I’d ignored at the start of our relationship. The way I’d changed myself to try and fit in with the image he’d built of me in his mind.
Lochlan stayed quiet until that moment. “Wait, how did you change yourself?”
I shrugged, spinning my now empty mug in my hands. “Got Cassie to take my hair back to my natural colour. Wore the clothes he’d bought for me. Stopped painting my nails. Tried not to talk so much.”
Lochlan let out a long breath, reaching across the table to take my hands in his. “Ash, I’m so fucking sorry. You areperfect,exactly as you are. The fact that piece of shite made you feel lesser about yourself speaks volumes about his character, not yours.”
“Thank you,” I squeezed his hands. “After I broke things off with him, I vowed never to change myself again. If I couldn’t findsomeone to accept me for who I am, then I wasn’t going to go there.”
Lochlan kissed the back of my hand. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Ash. You’re perfect. Just as you are.”
I flushed red, ducking my chin down to hide my grin. “Thanks.”
There was a brief pause before Lochlan spoke again. “Okay, so I get what happened. Why is he messaging you threats now?”
“He’s notactuallythreatening me. He’s just throwing his toys out of the pram because he’s not getting his own way.”
Lochlan’s lips thinned into a grim line. “That’s not how I read it.”
I fished my phone out of my pocket and opened up Gareth’s most recent missive.
If you keep ignoring me, I’m going to make you pay. You’re mine, Ash. You can prance around with that mage all you like, but we both know it won’t be long before he realises you’re too much for him.
Okay, so it was a little threatening, but Lochlan didn’t know Gareth like I did. “He’s all talk. And even if hedidtry something, I’m more than capable of handling myself.”
That was another thing that had always irked Gareth. We were both vampires, but I was descended from a far more powerful line. Not that I ever flaunted it. In fact, when I realised how much it bothered Gareth, I’d tried to hide it. To minimise my power and strength.