“Yes, but in their eyes, I am the insane one, and they reserve the right to lock me up on that basis.”
“You’re a little crazy.” She smirked. “But you’re not a psycho!”
She had no fucking idea, but I wasn’t about to show her my crazy. Not yet anyway.
“I understand if you don’t want to be bonded to me.” She plucked at her jacket and laughed self-deprecatingly. “I’m hardly a catch.”
What the fuck was she on about?Had she not listened to a word I’d said?I wasn’t rejecting the bond. I was worried the mages would imprison me and steal her away while they put me on trial.
Maverick was a strong mate, the strongest shifter I’d met in a long time, but he wasn’t powerful enough to stand against the entire Mage Council. And as for the vanilla popsicle, he’d melt under pressure like an ice cream left out in the sun.
I didn’t even bother considering fish boy. He lacked the balls to complete the bond with our mate, and the vampire, while he’d make a formidable foe, might be dead by now.
As Raven shivered in the biting wind, I pushed my unease aside. Seeing her injured had crystallized my feelings. I wasn’t used to feelinganything, but Raven’s chaotic emotions had flooded our bond as soon as it locked into place. Every random thought she had filtered through my mind.
Maverick’s thoughts too, mostly when he got annoyed. Although I suspected he deliberately broadcast his feelings about my completing the bond. He’d made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t happy when Raven and I woke up.
I rallied my thoughts, thinking about how best to make the witch understand I wanted her despite my concerns.
“I’m not good with emotional stuff,” I began. She snorted. “But make no mistake, I want you, and I am proud you’re my mate.”
“You are?” Tears sparkled like tiny frozen diamonds on her pale cheeks, and I realized how fucking cold she was. Fuck, the bear would murder me if she died from hypothermia.
“I am. Now let’s go back to the cabin before the bear tears my head off and pisses in the hole.”
22
Raven
I’d never been so cold in my life. The jacket Maverick gave me before we left Starfall was warm with down filling, but even that couldn’t keep the cold at bay. How was the incubus not cold? He wasn’t even wearing a jacket!
I tried not to stare at the way his muscles filled out his sweater, but it was hard to focus when he looked so damn hot.
Then his words sank in. He was proud to have me as a mate. Me, a mediocre witch with unstable magic and potentially a demon king for a father.
Yeah.I’d buried that revelation so deep not even a truth spell would find it. Zane’s eyebrows shot up as the memory of the demon’s voice fluttered across my mind. Stars, had my shield fallen?
“How long have you known?” Zane stared down at me with a mix of concern and surprise.
“Known what?” Ignorance was my best defense, I decided while shivering some more. Play dumb. It usually worked.
“That Nymon is your father.”
“My father?” I repeated, still playing dumb.
Zane swore and pulled me into his arms. His body heat soaked through my jacket, and I sighed with pleasure before the surrounding forest vanished in a vortex of magic.
We ended up back at the cabin to find a furious bear stomping around the spacious living room. Once I’d finished retching, I searched for Alar-dick and Kai, but they were nowhere in sight.
“Where thefuckdid you take her?” Maverick yelled. “It’s fucking minus ten degrees out there!”
“Calm your tits, care bear.” Zane rolled his eyes. “She’s cold but still in possession of all her extremities.”
Maverick ground his teeth some more before snatching me away from the incubus. I noted how Zane looked pained for a moment before he straightened and walked over to the kitchen area of the open-plan living space.
I took in our new surroundings. The cabin was basic but clean. From the plain furnishings, it appeared hunters used it as a base rather than it being a family vacation property. Maverick hadn’t said who owned the cabin, but I assumed it was a family member.
Zane pulled open a few cabinets and inspected the contents of the fridge. He removed a bottle of beer and popped the cap before swallowing a few mouthfuls.
