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Oh, shit.He wasn’t going to wait for plan B. He was going to kill me. Now.
My gaze slid to the altar.
Would he think he’d be able to avoid the side-effects of losing his mate if he sacrificed me to the death god? Would Cyrus and Bishop let him?
A shiver swept through me. I’d already had one supposed mate try to sacrifice me and I’d barely escaped with my life. I doubted I’d be so lucky a second time. Especially since Knox was more powerful than Royce and Sterling.
I shifted my attention to Bishop, looking up at him through my lashes. He was so beautiful, his features sculpted, a dusting of dark stubble along his jaw, and warm brown eyes that could capture my soul.
He’d been kind to me from the start, had vowed to court me and make me his mate even if I was also mated to Knox. He wouldn’t let him sacrifice me.
But would he be strong enough to protect me from his brother? From both his brothers?
Without a doubt, if Cyrus had to pick a side, he’d pick Knox’s. He’d already made his priorities clear. His pack and family were first. Always first. And I was neither.
Bishop leaned back and met my gaze, his expression filled with so much concern it made my heart break and another tear rolled down my cheek.
No one had ever looked at me like that, like I mattered and I wasn’t a burden even though I was. I’d yearned for someone to care for me like that all my life, and now it seemed I’d found someone just when everything was completely fucked up.
“Can you walk?” he asked, his voice soft as if he were afraid speaking too loudly would scare me.
I nodded even though I wasn’t sure if my legs could hold me and reluctantly eased away from his embrace.
Knox roared again and a hint of alpha power squeezed around my chest. Bishop’s attention jerked toward the passage, his body tensing, and an icy fear shivered down my spine.
Was Knox coming back? Was Bishop going to be forced to pick between me and his brother?
My throat tightened and more tears burned my eyes.
There was no contest. Knox was his twin, the other half of his human soul. It didn’t matter how Bishop looked at me. A look was just a look. It didn’t mean anything.
Cyrus marched back into the chamber and grabbed all three of our packs. “We need to go. I don’t want to be on the death god’s land when night falls. Carry her if she can’t walk.”
Then he marched back out. He hadn’t even glanced my way and that only made the sinking feeling in my stomach grow. Some of Merrick’s betas hadn’t been able to look at me, either. They’d pretended I hadn’t existed and that somehow absolved them of any responsibility for the child they knew their alpha was treating like a slave and abusing.
I sucked in a ragged breath, trying to steady my nerves. If we were leaving, Knox wasn’t planning to sacrifice me. Which meant I might be the person no one wanted, but my life wasn’t in immediate danger.
It was sad that that was my best situation… and that I’d have to be on guard for Knox or Cyrus to change their minds.
I sucked in another, steadier breath, and gathered the tattered remains of my determination. Bishop had a plan B and my heat was over. I could resist having sex with Knox for another nine days. It might only be eight if I could convince the guys to push our pace.
I could do this.
I’d already made it this far. I’d survived a man-eating monster. This unwanted mating bond was nothing.
And maybe if I kept telling myself that, I’d believe it.
“So,” Bishop asked. “Am I carrying you?” A soft smile tugged at his lips as if he already knew my answer.
“No.” I shoved up to my feet. My body was achy on a bone-deep level, but I couldn’t have expected to go through that spell without some aftereffects.
I just needed to walk it off, perhaps get a night’s sleep, and I’d be back to the way I was before. The way I’d felt yesterday morning when I’d woken boneless and satiated in bed with Bishop.
The memory of having sex with him shivered through me and I clung to the sensation. Feeling a little turned on was better than the icy hollowness any day. And now the sensation wasn’t out of control. It was a low, sensual ache, burning at the edge of my senses. A memory that I could draw on to make myself feel better.
“Let’s go,” I told him.
So, plan A hadn’t worked, plan B was a long shot, and I had no idea what plan C was… if there even was a plan C. But I hadn’t given up during the years of suffering with Sterling, and I wouldn’t give up now.
