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"We're dealing with our own hurt," Phantom says.
Rayne crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Understood, but we need to move past that."
Easy for him to say.
But Dusk's mouth pulls into a thin line, and he signs, while his lips are moving, "Agreed. There are other things to talk about since there doesn't seem to be an answer for our situation."
Phantom nods, and I can tell he doesn't want to linger on this conversation anymore. “Tell us about her light. About yours.”
For a few long seconds, Rayne looks uncertain, like he really doesn't want to answer Phantom’s question. But, finally, he speaks. “I don’t feel the power of the fae anymore.” He shakes his head. “I used to feel it here.” He thumps his chest with his fingertips, probably for my benefit, but his lips are easy to read.
“What about her? Where did that beam of light come from?” Dusk asks the question we’ve all wanted to ask.
"I don't know, and I don't think she knows either," Rayne says, but he speaks slowly enough that I'm able to read each word.
I sign, "That didn't come out of nowhere."
Phantom repeats my words for Rayne, and I'm a little surprised to see Rayne watching the way his hands move while he speaks, as if he's trying to learn to sign as well.
Rayne faces me again, very clearly speaking his words so as to not leave me out of the conversation. Something that many of the shadow beasts here still don't do. “Her mother was a fae but her father was human, so Ann’s never been particularly powerful.” He shakes his head. “At all, actually. So that light that exploded from inside her is… more than unexpected. Probably even by her.”
"She was raised by a human?" Dusk asks, looking as surprised as I feel. Ann never told us that. But then, we haven't asked her a lot about herself. Something we should correct if we want to grow closer to her.
You know, if she doesn't go running from us the first chance she gets.
He hesitates. “She was actually raised mostly by her mother and stepfather, both of whom are fae, and she doesn't tell people about her human heritage. It would be looked down upon." His face says he wants to tell us more, but maybe something he shouldn't say. After a moment though, he continues, "When she was young, her stepfather abused her. Broke her bones. Gave her scars. Made her feel like... garbage.” Anger flashes over his face, but he doesn’t elaborate any further. Not that he needs to.
Sharp points of rage stab through me.Someone hurt our Ann?
“She has problems trusting now.” His pointed stare is directed at me. "She acts tough, but she doesn't feel worthy of love. She doesn't feel worthy of much."
And it's obvious by the way he's looking at me that he's trying to get me to understand why this situation is so difficult for her. Trying to justify why Ann can't seem to just accept that we're her mates... too.
It works. The anger fades. At her, anyway. But I would love to get my hands on that bastard stepfather who hurt her. I would kill him. And Dusk nods as if he can read my thoughts and agrees. Phantom’s hands are clenched and his eyes are closed. I know him as well as I know myself. He’s imagining tearing the son of a bitch apart, one chunk at a time.
“We understand. At least, a little. But she’s not the only one who’s been hurt. Who’s lost someone.” Dusk's expression is as solemn as he ever gets.
“We can keep her safe.” I don’t know if Phantom is trying to reassure Rayne or if he’s asking permission. “All of us,” he adds the words and Dusk and I nod. We can keep her safest.
Rayne smiles. “She’ll appreciate that.”
Sadness aches through me. I don’t want her to want to be with us because we can keep her safe. I want her to want to be with us because… it’s a desire deep inside of her, the way it is for me, for us.
Rayne hesitates, then continues. "And maybe you guys can talk to her soon. You know, get this all sorted out."
"I thought you and Ann were going to leave?" Phantom says, speaking my thoughts aloud.
He shakes his head. "No, Ann and I are here for as long as she wants to be here."
Wants to be here.And how long will that be? Never long enough for us, that's for sure.
"She wants to talk about this mate bond stuff too," Rayne continues, flashing a hesitant smile.
Talk about the mate bond?A spark of excitement and hope rises in my chest, no matter how much I don't want to react to his words. Yes, that's what we need to do. Talk about settling everything between us, because it’s time we complete the mate bond, and maybe we can get her to see that.
But before we do that, I’m going to speak to the elder and find out everything I can about the mating bond and everything it entails. Maybe when Ann says yes, if she says yes, we'll then be able to proceed without any trouble.
I hope.
