I guess that my reading of the situation is rather different from most of yours, in that I know exactly what the OP means, and agree (more or less).
I feel terribly for Allirea. An eternity of rape is a horror beyond comprehension, and I am completely okay with her choice to kill him at the end of ch 31.
But look at Demetri. He mate-bonded with a half-vamp. As far as his instincts are concerned, that’s the same as mating a pure vampire. He doesn’t just hope, think, or expect that she’ll love him back—he knows it, with every fiber of his being, because that’s exactly what would have happened if she was a pure vampire.
The way I read it, it’s not that he saw that she didn’t like him, and disregarded it; he was literally incapable of reading into her revulsion and hatred as anything other than a playful, loving game. Perhaps she played it too often, or went too far with it, but that’s what mates are for, isn’t it? She was just showing her playful side, and her respect for his tracking abilities, because obviously she wouldn’t part from her mate for long if she didn’t think he’d be right behind her. The fact that he would have considered her strongest attacks negligible doubtlessly only exacerbated the situation.
Do I feel sorry for Demetri? Yes. Do I think Allirea should have spared him? Not a chance, because in regards to his “mate,” he’s effectively insane, and would never, ever stop.
I guess that my reading of the situation is rather different from most of yours, in that I know exactly what the OP means, and agree (more or less).
I feel terribly for Allirea. An eternity of rape is a horror beyond comprehension, and I am completely okay with her choice to kill him at the end of ch 31.
But look at Demetri. He mate-bonded with a half-vamp. As far as his instincts are concerned, that’s the same as mating a pure vampire. He doesn’t just hope, think, or expect that she’ll love him back—he knows it, with every fiber of his being, because that’s exactly what would have happened if she was a pure vampire.
The way I read it, it’s not that he saw that she didn’t like him, and disregarded it; he was literally incapable of reading into her revulsion and hatred as anything other than a playful, loving game. Perhaps she played it too often, or went too far with it, but that’s what mates are for, isn’t it? She was just showing her playful side, and her respect for his tracking abilities, because obviously she wouldn’t part from her mate for long if she didn’t think he’d be right behind her. The fact that he would have considered her strongest attacks negligible doubtlessly only exacerbated the situation.
Do I feel sorry for Demetri? Yes. Do I think Allirea should have spared him? Not a chance, because in regards to his “mate,” he’s effectively insane, and would never, ever stop.