AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Like mating is for my safety and not because you guys have some sort of group sex fetish?” Her words say she isn’t about it, but a flare of desire darkens her eyes.
“Mating with you is for the good of us all.” But she huffs away before I can explain.
She walks to the center of the group and looks at Flame. “We’re done here. Take me back.”
I warn him off with a look, get a glare in return but he backs off and follows behind as I walk beside her while she stomps away. She’s angry. I don’t blame her for her confusion, but I do blame her for her unwillingness to do what has to be done for the good of all.
Onyx seems frustrated and signs that he’ll get dinner. Phantom agrees to go with him. I look after them in longing. Ann has to be protected. She has to be watched. But I feel like I desperately need space from her. Every dirty look, every refusal, cuts me so deep inside that I feel like I’ll never recover.
By the time we reach the cave, Phantom and Onyx have hunted dinner and it’s on a spit over the fire in the center of the huge cavern. And while the warriors are enamored with Ann, they love food even more. And since they caught enough for us all, we invite them to join us. Yes, we’re protective of our Ann, but we’re not assholes.
Besides, while they’re eating, she’ll have a reprieve for a few minutes before they start trying to find ways to get close to her. To claim her for their own.
I brush past Phantom feeling my anger rise.
“What’s the matter with you?” He asks me, but we both know what’s the matter with me is the same thing that’s the matter with him.
“Hungry,” is all I manage.
He catches my arm and speaks in a whisper. “Do you think she’ll come around before it’s too late?”
His question is one without a clear answer. The truth is that if Ann doesn’t want to step up and do her duty, if she doesn’t agree to bond with us, the Shadow King will find a way--by either manipulation or force--to marry her, and then nothing else will matter. Now that he knows she’s here, there’s no way to keep her safe without guarding her every minute. And she’s never going to allow that.
I nod to Ann who’s taken a flask of water from Flame and tips it back. Her neck lengthens as she drinks and I can’t stop staring at her. “The Shadow King wants to marry her, and I don’t know if we can stop him.”
Phantom nods. “I don’t know either.” He blows out a harsh breath, eyes dark with anger. “But never again are we going to let a woman we love near the Shadow King.” He speaks with quiet force. And I agree.
The loss is too much for my memory to bear.
