Page 65 of Binding His Fated Mates

“Sounds like a plan,” Harris agreed.

“We take them down before they can target anyone else,” Lacey said, giving Reed and Harris a sharp nod. “Sundown tonight.”

Reed nodded back at her. Then he met the gaze of everyone in the pack, one at a time. “Is everyone clear?”

The pack responded with nods and murmurs of assent. Even Tamrand inclined his head.

The meeting broke up. The pack scattered to go about their business.

Tamrand rose to leave, and as he passed me, he paused.

“Protect your warlock,” he said. His blue eyes held mine for a moment. “They can take him quicker than you might imagine.”

* * *

Lacey caught me outside the mess hall.

Hunter and Daniel had gone ahead to the cabin. I’d hung back to help Emma clear the dishes—partly because I was raised with manners, and partly because I could feel Lacey’s gaze on the back of my neck like a laser sight and I knew exactly what was coming. Better she deal with me than with Hunter.

She was leaning against the porch railing, arms crossed, her blond ponytail whipping in the breeze. Her expression was not friendly.

“We need to talk,” she said.

“I had a feeling.”

She studied me for a moment, as if deciding where to start. Then she pushed off the railing and faced me squarely, her blue eyes hard.

“Daniel is my best friend. He has been for two years, ever since you and Hunter decided he wasn’t worth your time.” Her voice was controlled, but I could hear the steel underneath. “What are you two planning? Is this new lovey-dovey thing you’re doing a trick?”

I blinked at her in surprise. “What?”

“If you’re planning to lead him on and then hurt him, I will end you.”

“Oh.” She was serious. And she had every reason to think that of us. “It’s not a trick. We talked it out.”

“You talked it out?” Lacey demanded, her eyebrows shooting up. “Are you joking? Do you have any idea how many times you two made him cry? Or worse, made him act like he shouldn’t even exist?”

Her words landed like a blow and I flinched.

“I deserve that,” I admitted. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for it. I swear I will. You don’t understand everything about what happened with us, but that doesn’t really matter. Because you’re right. We were awful.”

She narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion, frowning. She looked as if she was trying to figure out how full of shit I was.

At last, she said, “Yeah. You were. Your brother, too.” Her lips quirked oddly around the word, her eyes searching mine. She added, “Especially him.”

“We love Daniel. Both of us do.”

She arched a brow at that.

“We always have,” I said. “Things have just been… difficult. And we finally figured out how to get past it.” Then I realized, belatedly, how this might look to the rest of the pack. Everyone thought we were brothers, after all. “Um. It’s not weird, though. Or, I guess I mean that it—it’s not creepy. It’s complicated.”

“Right,” Lacey said, a not-so-nice smile twisting on her lips. “You mean that it’s not ‘creepy’ because you guys aren’t actually twins?”

My jaw dropped open. “What?”

She huffed. “C’mon, Lee.”

“No,” I said, still staring at her in shock. “Why would you say that?”