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I feel for the poor guy, and a strange protectiveness rises up in me. I suddenly want to go track down every woman who’s ever taken advantage of him and kick their asses for daring to hurtmycupid.
I flinch. Where the hell did that come from? Why am I feeling so possessive? He’s not mine. I don’t even know him, and even though he’s handsome, I definitely don’t want him. I have enough men in my life already. I don’t need any more. But as I stand here trying to convince myself of this, something deep inside me tells me that I’m lying to myself.
The power in my gut finally pushes its way to the surface. It’s dark and seductive, and I find myself wanting to use it on Charlie. This man ismine. I want to claim him.Ownhim. And I can. All I have to do is call him with my song and he will be mine forever.
Before I even know what I’m doing, I lock gazes with Charlie and unleash my power on him. He gasps softly, and his pupils dilate. His reaction spurs me on. I up my intensity. “Mine,” I whisper.
“Nora!”
A deep, rumbly voice calls my name—Terrance—but I can’t look away from Charlie. My power has as much of a hold on me as it does on him.
“Nora!”Rook is suddenly at my side, too. He gently grips my arm and starts to shake me.“What are you doing?”he whisper-hisses. “You can’t use your song on him. Especially not in public. Do you want to get yourself killed?”
“He ismine,” I growl, ignoring the tug on my arm. I barely recognize myself.
Charlie shivers and nods slowly. “Yes. I am yours. Forever. And you are mine.”
Something inside me purrs with satisfaction, some kind of inner beast. I can’t seem to rein in my power. My siren is strong and hungry, and she wants to devour the man in front of me.
“What’s wrong with her?” Rook asks.
“I don’t know,” Terrance replies, “but we need to snap her out of it and get her out of here.”
As Charlie and I stare at one another, a different kind of power that I recognize as fey magic swirls around the two of us, coating my skin like a warm blanket. A shocked gasp sounds behind me. I’m not sure if it’s Rook or Terrance, and I’m too transfixed to care. The magic jumps from me to Charlie, binding us together with a golden cord. It wraps around our wrists and absorbs into our skin. The moment the magic is gone, I feel a swarm of emotions that are not my own. I’m flooded with awe and joy that I know belongs to Charlie. We’re connected somehow, and I have a sinking feeling that the damage is permanent.
“What’s going on?” Rook demands. “What the hell was that?”
Terrance throws me over his shoulder and carts me away from the bar. The move startles me, and I’m snapped out of my trance. My power recedes back into me. The darkness and seduction that was overwhelming me is gone for now, but the connection to Charlie’s emotions is still there. There’s confusion and worry now mixed in with his joy and disbelief.
“Bring him,” Terrance orders. I assume he’s talking to Rook, and he must mean Charlie, but my head is still a little too foggy to worry about what’s going on.
When Terrance starts climbing the stairs in the back of the club, I know where he’s going. He has a private suite that doubles as a panic room. Once we’re inside, he dumps me on a couch and glares down at me. Behind us, Rook leads Charlie into the room and closes the door. He, too, glowers at me.
I shrink under the weight of their stares. “I’m sorry,” I croak. “I don’t know what happened. One minute we were talking, and the next my power just took over. I couldn’t stop myself.”
Terrance relaxes his stance a little, but his eyes are still blazing. I don’t think he’s angry with me personally. It’s more like he’s pissed off at the situation. It was out of his control, and T-man hates not being in control. “You have no idea what you just did,” he growls.
I bristle. “Of course I do. I mesmerized him with my song. I just don’t know why my—”
“You did a hell of a lot more than that!” Terrance snaps.
He turns his glare on Charlie, and this time he’s definitely angry at the person and not just the situation. His pupils swell until his eyes are all black—a sure sign the troll is about to lose his temper. I don’t know why he’s mad at Charlie, though. None of this was his fault. Charlie blanches. Who wouldn’t when a troll is about to rage on him?
I stand up and slowly place myself between Charlie and Terrance. “Hey, T-man. Let’s calm down, huh? We can figure this out.”
The room is silent as we all wait for Terrance to take a breath. Fear pulses from Charlie through our strange bond, but then it’s replaced with shock. “What did he mean, she doesn’t know?” he asks Rook. “Is that even possible?”
The question gets through Terrance’s anger, and he relaxes. That’s all the break in tension Rook needs to stomp between Terrance and me demanding answers. “What the hell are you talking about?What happened?”
Terrance glares at all of us, but when he sees our confusion, his anger deflates and he huffs in exasperation. “The fey have a special kind of magic,” he says, answering Rook but talking to me. “Similar to what happened when Illren swore fealty to you, there is another binding magic that fey can enter into with one another.”
My eyes pop open wide, and the blood drains from my face. Binding magic? I fall back down to the couch, because wherever he’s going with this, it can’t be anywhere good. Terrance sees the panic in my eyes and groans at the ceiling. He rubs a hand over his bald head. It’s something he does whenever he’s frustrated.
“What?” I demand, my heart racing now. “Just tell me!”
Terrance tears his eyes from the ceiling and locks his gaze on mine. “You bonded yourself to him.” He grimaces. “You claimed him as your mate.”
