I didn’t breathe as I waited for him to make a comment.
“What does the line mean?” He finally asked, voice tight as he clearly held back a lot of what he wanted to say.
“It’s a rare bond mark called aConiuncta,”I breathed out, trying my best to get a glance at his face out of my peripheral vision but failing. “It means that you three are the only mates I have out there, and now that I’ve completed the bond with you each, a new one has snapped into place that connects each of you as well.”
A growl tore from his throat as he let me go. Turning around, I found him pacing in front of bed as he shook his head. A scowl marred his handsome face. “I don’t want a bond to either of them,” he spat before stopping at looking into my eyes. “What are we supposed to be, some kind of fucked up love square?”
I couldn’t fault him for not taking the news in stride. Not only did he have to accept that I officially had two other mates, but he had to come to terms with the fact that the Fates them a connection to each other too. There was nothing he could do to change that, and a part of me did feel guilty that they had to live with theConiuncta bondwithout consenting to it first, but I had no idea this would happen.
Trying to lighten the mood, I walked toward him and laid my hands on his biceps. Tilting my head to the side, I smirked and responded, “I’d like to think we’re a little more like a rhombus—unusual and much more unique than a typical square. More personality if you will.”
After the words escaped, I couldn’t contain my own laughter at the horrible joke. Thankfully it was bad enough to pull a small smirk from him too.
“You’re really fucking weird, Spitfire,” he said, lifting a hand to cup my face. “Never change.”
Turning my head to press my lips against his palm, I whispered softly, “I'm so sorry that you’ve been dragged into this. I didn't have the slightest idea that this was even a possibility until Drake and I stumbled across a book about it in his library this morning."
My gaze trailed to the ground as I pulled my cheek away from his hand. A fierce sense of guilt stirred in my gut. Would they despise me for this?
His hand moved to seize my chin, and he demanded, "Look at me, Alina." Fear and anxiety kept me from complying until he yanked a bit tighter and bellowed, "Now, Princess."
My entire body tensed as I met his gaze, our eyes locked in a battle of wills.
“Am I happy about this? No. But as long as I still get equal time with you, I’ll deal with whatever weird shit comes along with our fucked-up rhombus.”
My body trembled as I barely suppressed a grin. His confession sent my heart racing, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Lincoln and I had made such incredible progress, and it was tangible proof of our ability to communicate effectively without lashing out.
Launching myself forward, I threw my arms around his neck and pressed a fervent kiss against his cheek, whispering a heartfelt, "Thank you."
“Mhm,” he murmured. “But I swear to the Fates if one of them tries to fuck with me and get us friendship bracelets, I’m going to string them all together and choke them out with it.” His eyes narrowed, and the vein on his forehead pulsed once more. “Why can I so easily picture Andrei doing it to piss me off?”
Andrei…
“There’s something that happened last night with Andrei and I that I have to tell you about,” I admitted hesitantly, unsure of where to start.
Lincoln's body coiled around me, his energy tapping against my mental shields as if trying to break through. I clung to a thread of composure, knowing I had to handle this situation with delicacy or risk unleashing the fury of a raging vampire. His presence seeped into my bones, and I felt the clammy grip of fear wind its way through me.
“He swore to me that he wouldn’t let you get hurt, Alina,” he said dryly, pulling back from me to look into my eyes once more. “What the fuck did that kid do?”
Here we go.
Chapter8
LINCOLN
The last time I could recall allowing such blinding rage to consume my thoughts and emotions was when Dracula, his guards, and everyone on the board turned their back on me when I came back to get help for my parents.
It was soul shattering the way I felt disposed of, like yesterday's steaming garbage.
But this? This rage had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the most precious thing in the world to me being tarnished by the vile words of a little boy with daddy issues.
"Lincoln," Alina's fingers moved like lightning, snapping quickly in front of my eyes. Yet I refused to blink or speak. "Hello? Are you going to say something?"
When she'd finished with her summary of the night, I was a man with a single-minded focus. She continued to ask me to speak, to tell her how I felt, or what I thought we should do moving forward, but I was an immovable statue right now.
My gaze remained transfixed on her blue eyes as I contemplated the malicious possibilities of what I could do with just one swift motion—obliterating every bone in that insolent twerp's face.
Oh, the pleasure it would bring me.
