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AUDREY
I strodeout of the temple, an enormous, shapeless, windowless mound in the middle of flat, barren nothingness as far as the eye could see.
Knox paced about fifty feet away, his movement jerky, anger radiating off him. It shocked me that he was still in human form. I would have thought he’d have shifted before even getting out of the temple’s dark passageway given that he preferred his wolf form over his human one.
Without a word, Cyrus handed one of the packs to Bishop and started marching south. Knox took that as permission to leave — I wasn’t sure why he’d even stuck around — and, with a jerk of Cyrus’s chin, Bishop hurried to catch up with his twin.
Swell. Just what I needed. Left with the brother who thought I couldn’t do anything and that I was going to be a burden to his family and pack for the rest of my life.
I’d been trying to prove this whole walk here that I wouldn’t hold him or anyone back. I might not know anything, but I’d been, and still was, determined to not complain and keep up.
I’d thought from our conversation last night where he seemed to have respected my desire to live independently that he was softening up to me. But now, from the tension in his shoulders and back, I guess I’d been wrong.
“I can carry my own pack,” I said, even as the ache in my body grew, complaining about our current pace.
His gaze slid to mine, his moss green eyes edged with his wolf’s darkness, his expression hard and unreadable even as it sent a shiver of desire teasing down my spine. Was he furious like Knox?
I huffed at myself. Of course he was.
He’d been angry at me since we’d left Stonehaven and now all hope of getting rid of the weakling was gone. Even plan B meant I was still part of the family… of course, if Bishop intended to court me regardless of the spell’s outcome, I’d still end up part of the family.
My toe caught on an uneven crack in the almost completely flat ground, and I staggered two steps before catching my balance.
Cyrus raised one eyebrow as if he couldn’t believe I’d actually found something to trip on.
“Walk for an hour without tripping. Then you can get your pack back.” He jerked his attention back to Knox and Bishop, who were now at least a hundred feet ahead of us.
Fine. I could do that.
“We all knew the spell was a long shot,” he said a few minutes later, his gaze still straight ahead. “Bishop’s plan B has even worse odds.”
“It might be possible,” I insisted even though I knew Cyrus was right.
Still, the fae sorcerers that had helped the Angelic Defense defeat Michael had been incredibly powerful. Whil had said she wasn’t magically strong, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to do it. I had no idea what was considered a “weak” sorcerer. She probably had more power in her baby finger than I did in my entire body.
“Anything is possible.” Cyrus glanced at me, his expression soft and sad.
God, he was just as beautiful as his brothers except in a more rugged, edgy way, and seeing him look at me like that, like he actually cared, made my pulse stutter.
Had I been wrong about him? I’d assumed everything I did pissed him off, but maybe that wasn’t true and he just wasn’t great at showing his feelings.
Then his expression hardened, his walls returning, and he faced forward again. “But you’re smart enough to know moving a mating bond isn’t probable,” he added.
“I don’t have any other option. Knox doesn’t want me.” The icy hollowness in my chest surged and I fought to push it back.
“Both of you are going to have to accept the reality of your situation,” he said, the angry edge returning to his voice. “The sooner you do, the better for Knox.”
And there it was. The reminder that Knox was, and always would be, Cyrus’s first priority.
“So, I just have to accept that I’m going to spend the rest of my life in a loveless mating because that’s what’s best for Knox, for the pack? You’re just as bad as my old pack.”
My toe caught on another crack and I stumbled again.
This time I couldn’t catch my balance and careened forward, but Cyrus caught me before I could smash my knees on the hard ground and yanked me against his body.
My hands slid across his broad, sculpted chest, and his powerful arms surrounded me. His deep earthy scent wrapped around me like a blanket, comforting and warm until the warmth began to grow.
The last time I’d been this close to Cyrus, we’d been in Stonehaven and he’d been yelling at me for risking my life. And he’d been naked.
