FULL NOVELXO Chapter 119 –
Saoirse's POV
I could tell that I had caught him by surprise. He must have been more upset than I thought he was. I heard what he said. I know he realizes now what he has done. That was good, but I didn't want Robert to be with me out of misplaced guilt. I wanted him to be with me because he wanted me. Because I was the only woman he desired. I got her later than the rest of them. I was not in a rush to see Robert, I wasn't mentally ready to have a conversation with him, not yet.
I did hear him shut her down hard. I had heard him confess that he had never flirted with or wanted her. I couldn't allow myself to be happy about that. Just because he hadn't led her on didn't mean anything. He still allowed her to flirt with him. He let her touch him, knowing I was standing in front of them and I was his mate. Nothing had changed between us, as he had still ignored my warning when I begged him not to go. He had still chosen her over me.
Just because he now knows what a duplicitous person she was doesn't change what happened. I can see that he was impassioned when he spoke to Adra. I can also tell that he meant every word he said. But words alone aren't going to fix the problems between us. The hope that grew on his face was hard to look at. He hurt me, and I can't act like he didn't. I don't want to hurt him, but giving him false hope would do just that.
"Baby, please, just talk to me. We need to discuss this. I didn't cheat on you, Adra spelled me. She kissed me, but I never responded to her, even with the spell. In my heart, I knew that she wasn't you. I love you, and I swear I never meant to hurt you," Robert said as he walked over to me. I sidestepped and moved away. He didn't try to hide the pain on his face. I could see it written all over his handsome face.
"I am only here to help Jaxon interrogate Adra. After that, I will go away for a while to think things over. I will return after I have had time to decide what to do, and we can talk then. I will leave right after dealing with Adra," I told him.
"No! Please don't leave me. I will leave you alone while you think about what you want to do, but don't leave Black Adder. I was an idiot. I admit that. But being without you is killing me, Saoirse. Please, give me to opportunity to prove my love for you. Echo is angry with me, too. He was also hurt because of my actions. Saoirse, I love you. I don't want to lose you. I will never recover from it," Robert told me. Looking into his eyes let me know that he was telling the truth.
I could tell his words were the truth, and he meant every word he said. The problem was that his actions still hurt me. The pain was still there, and I didn't want to be lured in because I wanted him so badly. The bond was trying to push us back together. But will he ever learn if I don't show him the consequences of his actions? I knew the reason why this happened. He had good intentions. She was his friend and was asking for him.
Adra was right when she said that he had made a choice. He did, and he had chosen her. That was the blow that hurt the most. He picked a lying, conniving bitch, over his mate. If scaring him straight was the only way to ensure he would never do this again, then that is what I have to do. I am unwilling to sign up for the pain of this happening again. I love Robert more than I ever cared for James. We are marked and mated, and I can feel how upset he is. I can feel his pain, and I know that he can feel mine.
But mine hadn't started up today. I was hurting the same day that he was ignoring my pleas. He heard me plead with him, bore my fears out, and brushed them away. Like they didn't even matter to him, he knew that in doing so, he had ended up hurting me even more. It is hard to believe him. He told me what I wanted to hear, then did the opposite. I went to walk around the group, and Robert lunged for me. I knew he wasn't trying to hurt me. I knew he intended to hold me and force me to hear what he wanted to say.
I couldn't allow him to do that. I would cave because I wanted him, needed him, and loved him more than I cared to admit. The men with us had been on alert. They knew Robert was strong and would not take this lying down. More warriors had shown up and were standing in the hallway with us. I wanted to teleport back home until they settled him, yet I was scared he would be hurt in the scuffle. Chase and Blane had stepped forward to stop him from getting to me, and Robert was roaring in anger.
Correction: Echo was roaring in anger. The anguish on their face almost made me cave. He wouldn't calm down, and Jaxon had to step in and Alpha command him to stop. It still took several minutes to calm them both down. When he did calm, I heard Echo say, 'Please don't leave, mate. Don't leave me. Hearing him speak to me, I couldn't stop the tears. Robert had not listened to either of us; Echo was part of the collateral damage.
I trusted Echo, but I no longer trusted Robert the same way. He knew what I had gone through. Yet, in the end, he still did me as James did. Showing me just how important I was to him by ignoring me and going to another. Saying you're sorry is a good start. But this was far from over. Robert and Jaxon were staring at each other, and with how their eyes were glossed over, they were mindlinking. I saw Jaxon's eyebrow go up and glance at me, but nothing was said out loud.
I moved closer to the door of the interview room. I wanted Adra to see me and realize it was all over for her. I was going to end her. I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to it. I would be killing her and her friend today, no matter what else happened.
"Wait, why is she here?" Adra cried out from inside the room. I took the opportunity to wink at her. I wasn't going to hide the fact that I was pissed off. It shouldn't be a surprise to her at all. She had just caught sight of me, and she was scared. Good, she should be. I had already blocked her from being able to reach out to warn her friend earlier while Robert was still in the room speaking to her. The cold look I gave her told her that she was finished. I didn't have to say a word.
"Robert! Robert, please help me. She is going to kill me," Adra called out, and I gave a short nod to let her know that she was right. She was going to die today, no matter what happened. Just like Jaxon had told me when he came out to see me this morning. She was involved, and the Luna for Black Adder was taken. Her demise was already set in stone. I was here to protect Jaxon and his men in case she knew enough to hurt one of them.
This reminded me, and I quickly bound her powers, just in case. Originally, I wanted her to try to fight back or attack me. I say try because she is way under my level. She had started this whole thing, but I would end it. She backed up into the corner with the guard in front of her. "I'm sorry, but you need to stay back," he told me as I entered the room.
He didn't recognize me. I was usually in my home, or training Cara. This was his work area, so he didn't know why I was there. He had been vigilant and watching out for danger for Adra. He was doing his job, but Robert growled at him. It was low and dangerous, and Jaxon stepped forward to straighten it all out.
"Gregory, this is Saoirse. She is Robert's mate and has lived here for the last two weeks. I asked her to be here with us. She is a witch, too, and here to protect us from anything Adra attempts to do. Adra is charged with treason, which carries the death penalty. I am sure that she will try to escape if she can. This interview is just a formality, as Adra had already admitted to what she had done when she was arrested. I didn't want anyone else getting injured if she attempted to hurt any one of us," Jaxon's words calmed everyone down, including Robert. He was happy that I was advised as his mate, and his chest puffed up with pride. The guard's eyes went back and forth between me and Robert several times before saying, "Welcome to Black Adder, Saoirse." Robert's possessive growl at the guard speaking to me rang out. Jaxon tapped Robert on his shoulder and said, "Go on, we have got this. Go let Echo out for a run to calm down. You can say goodbye to Adra if you want to."
Robert's voice echoed as he said, "I have said my piece. I don't need to say anything else to her. I am done. She tried to ruin my relationship, and I was dumb enough to fall for it. We are no longer friends anymore. She doesn't mean anything to me now." I was not the only one stunned to hear what he said to her. That was not how he usually was with her. Adra was just as shocked as we were.
"Robert, you can't mean that. I've known you since you were eighteen and had just made Gamma. Please help me. I only agreed to help them to be with you. I love you. How can you turn your back on me like this?" Adra called out to him.
"Just like this," Robert told her, walking down the hallway. Adra screamed out for him and ran over to the door, trying to chase after him. He never turned back to look at her. Her cries rang out as the guard held her from running after him. She was distraught. I could tell she cared for him, but he made it no secret to her that he wanted his mate. Hearing that they met when he was eighteen was a lightbulb moment for me.
It was a good reminder for me. He was such an imposing figure that I sometimes forgot he was still very young, which made him impulsive and immature. At that moment, some of my anger towards him dissipated. She used his age against him. She was about as old as I was and knew how to work him. I'm absolutely sure she went so slowly with him that he never saw her true intentions coming. I messaged Cara through our link for her to find Robert, I had a message for him.