24. CORA

It felt like the air had been knocked from my lungs.

I never expected him to utter those words. If a mate was so rare, why would someone kill their own mate?

Was she not what he wanted so he killed her? I shook the thought from my mind and focused my attention back on Keiran.

“Laura was manipulative and selfish. She wanted things done her way or not at all,” Keiran said softly. “When we met…she was shy or so she pretended to be. The more I got to know her, the more her true colors started showing.”

“So she lied about who she really was?” I questioned.

Keiran nodded. He stared at me for a few seconds before he leaned down. There was the sound of keys jiggling, and a moment later, a drawer opened and then closed.

Standing, he walked around the desk and took a seat opposite me again. He hesitated a few seconds before he held out a photo album.

“I loved her,” he said softly. “But I had to make a choice. I tried talking to her, changing things. For a while, I even pretended to be some