A Sweet Stolen Kiss

Elena POV

I did say I wanted the truth.

Now that I had it, I wasn't sure what to do with it.

The weight of Kane's words pressed down on me, suffocating in their intensity. My mind reeled, trying to process everything he had just laid bare: Dean wasn't just some rogue doppelgänger—he was a part of Kane. A darker, unrelenting piece of him, stripped of humanity and consumed by chaos. The idea that this... thing shared a bond with me as my mate made my stomach churn.

How was I supposed to handle this? How was I supposed to feel?

I looked at Kane, sitting there with his head bowed, his hands clasped tightly together like he was holding himself in check. He was waiting—no, bracing—for my response, expecting me to reject him, to run as far away from him and the nightmare of his past as I could.

And for a moment, I considered it.