Toraf finds Grom, the Triton king, in his usual haunt—hovering listlessly over the barren human minefields. He knows Grom has sensed him for some time, but the twins’ older brother doesn’t acknowledge Toraf until he sweeps up beside him.

Grom chuckles without looking at the younger Syrena. “Don’t worry, minnow. Rayna didn’t unseal you.”

Toraf clears his throat. “I know. I came to…I came to unseal her.”

This catches the king off guard. His voice is part shock, part amusement when he says, “Is my sister more than you can handle after all?”

“You know how I feel about your sister,” Toraf snaps. Then he softens his tone. Grom is Rayna’s older brother, yes. But he’s also Toraf’s king. He deserves more respect than that.

But Grom doesn’t seem perturbed. In fact, Toraf’s outburst seems to concern him. “Toraf, what is troubling you?”

He feels like his heart has been quartered and used for bait. So this is what guilt feels like. He’d never thought to feel guilty about what he’d done, because up until today, he always knew it was the right thing to do. He always knew he would mate with Rayna, and even though the circumstances weren’t the best, he did what he thought was best. He thought that in time she’d accept that. But after seeing Rayna’s tears, the way her tortured words caused a riot in his chest…He was wrong. So wrong.

And so was Emma. Rayna wasn’t playing hard to get. She wasn’t playing at all. She was hurt. Really, truly hurt. And she’d been waiting for Toraf to do the right. Instead, he did the exact opposite. She will never talk to him again.

Unless he tells her the truth.

Toraf faces the Triton king. “I have to tell her why I did it. She’s hurting, Grom. She doesn’t trust me anymore.”

Grom sighs. “We agreed this it was best to keep it a secret. That if she finds out what Father—that she would be devastated if she knew the truth. You were okay with that. What changed?”

I kissed Galen’s love interest in front of her, he wants to blurt. “I owe her the truth,” is what he says instead. “She’s my mate and she will be for the next three hundred years. That’s a long time to have to hate someone, don’t you think?”

“Did you ever stop to think telling her could make it even worse?”

“What do you mean?”

“That if she’s mad now for some reason or another, telling her you’ve been hiding something important from her all this time isn’t likely to be the healing balm you’re looking for.”

“Wounds can’t heal until they’re clean,” Toraf decides as he says it. “And the truth will at least clean things up between us. And eventually—hopefully—things will heal.”

“You really love her, don’t you?”

“Do I have your permission to tell her?”

“Would it really make a difference?”

At this, Toraf swims away. Grom is right. He’s going to do this whether or not he has Royal permission. He might as well not stick around to hear the words that may make his next move an act of treason.

Grom lets him go without a word.

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Author's note: I hope you are enjoying reading Hard to Get! If you love these characters, you'll love the characters in my upcoming novel, Joyride, just as much! Start reading it on Wattpad now at wattpad.com/story/31229577-joyride and pre-order your copy today at macteenbooks.com/joyride.