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“I’m her healer, and she’s having a tough end of her pregnancy.” I shrugged. “She turned Drew from an angry beast into a caring brother. If something happens to her, the world will suffer Drew’s wrath, and I will probably die. With the Mindolin about to be free, I’m not into dying yet, so yeah, it was very nice of me.”
I made sure to keep my voice from sounding patronizing since Nate was in the car, but she glared at me anyway.
“Sorry,” I muttered and then climbed from the vehicle. Before closing my door, I leaned back in and said, “Stay.”
“Am I a dog?” Tessa asked loudly, and I chuckled as I walked around the vehicle.
After opening the door, I gave a little bow and extended my hand to her. “May I assist you, madam?”
Tessa sputtered a laugh like I was crazy, but her cheeks pinkened as she accepted my offered hand. I knew this changed nothing with her, or so she said, but I didn’t think Nate had ever treated her like a lady, only a child. Not that I knew much about how to treat a lady, but I’d give it my best tonight. Anything to save my throat since my elements wouldn’t be helping me at all.
Truly, I felt like I was going insane as I looped Tessa’s arm through mine. This was not how one treated a woman who had not only threatened him but also shown she’d follow through with the threat by poisoning her victim. What was I doing?
“Oh, they’re so cute,” we could hear Jazz telling Drew ahead of us where he carried her beside Victor. Behind them Torres and Nate talked. “Maybe they’ll bond!”
“Not on her life.” Tessa made sure I heard her.
“Jazz just wants me to be happy. Her family was killed by Vampires and she was bound to a Vampire before Drew found her.”
Tessa stumbled beside me in her shock, but I kept her on her feet with ease. “How is she bonded to Drew then?”
“The bond between her and the Vampire was only started. They’d done the blood exchange—without Jazz’s permission—and the Vampire was working on completing the bond when Drew found them. Jazz was putting up a fight, but Drew had to kill the Vampire to free her. She’s lucky Lady Love, Aunt Lilith, sent Drew dreams of her so we knew to find her.”
Confusion filled violet eyes. “Why was she sending Drew dreams?”
I smiled. “Lilith knew it would take a special soul to open Drew’s heart. He needed someone to give his crap back to him, and Jazz does.”
“And what type of girl do you think you need?” Her question surprised me, and I stopped walking to look at her. “What? You need a girl so we can beat the Mindolin, right?”
I hadn’t forgotten—I knew I needed to bond—I just hadn’t found anyone who gave my heart that spark.
“You realize I’m supposed to bond, make a forever commitment to a woman, only to lose my life and leave her alone for the rest of hers? Doesn’t really make bonding a priority now, does it?”
“She could still marry, though, right?”
I tugged her forward again to keep up with the others. “Yeah, but it won’t hold a candle to what she and I would have had. I’m not saying that to be pompous. When I take a mate, she will have access to a mental link where we can speak mind to mind. She will have access to feel my emotions, and I will have access to her emotions as well. On top of that, she will be given the missing Healing powers I do not have. She will be a Lower Elemental like my sisters-in-law. I’m not sure any of those are enough to make any woman agree to a bonding where she knows I won’t live long after the Mindolin is dead. So, I guess, the hardest part of bonding for me will be to convince a woman to go through with it.”
“You don’t have to tell her. Omission isn’t necessarily a lie for you, is it?”
“You care for Nate. Could you not tell him something so important when it has such an impact on his future happiness?”
She took a moment to think about it before shaking her head. “No, no I couldn’t do that to him.”
“And I will not do that to my future mate. So, Elementals help us, I’m going to need a miracle.”
My heart had begun to pound during the conversation. Realization that this situation with Tessa was even worse than I’d thought had made the blood drain from my face. How in the blazes was I going to pull this off? Shoulders slouched, I stood with everyone as we waited for the elevator. Everyone was going to die, and it was my fault.
We entered the elevator and rode it up a few floors to a banquet floor where governors and other Light political leaders were lavished upon. The long hallway was filled with rooms of various sizes. The room we wanted was at the end. It was large and ornate.
“Welcome!” Patrick Rico, a member of the Council, and one of the happiest men I knew, met us at the door. “You must be Nathaniel.”
The two men shook hands, and Nate introduced Tessa, who still hung on my arm. Tension had begun to rise in her as we’d walked down the hall.
“I will protect you,” I whispered into her ear as we moved past the Councilman and into the room already filled with the Light Council, the Demons, and Dark. The only ones missing now were the Elementals—if they were even coming—and Adam’s Neutrals.
“I’ve been to formal dinners before with Nathaniel, but this is different. I’m a hothead sometimes, and I have to remain on my best behavior. It’s hard when there are so many people in here who I hate.”
“My brothers.”
