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Her expression says she doesn’t believe me. “I just want to go home now.”
She’s brave. Her voice is strong, eyes piercing as she glances from me to Onyx to Dusk. There’s a confidence in that gaze, as if she can use her beautiful blue eyes to entice or enchant, to convince us of something we know can never happen.
“No.” The answer doesn’t require expansion. She can’t go home. Period. It isn’t an option.
“Yes. I want to gohome.” She speaks with force now, a panic inside of her erupting through her tone. The inflection comes with strength.
“No.”
Softer, Dusk adds, “You aren’t safe there.” Onyx nods as Dusk speaks again. “You’re safe here. You’re our mate and we will protect you.”
Her nostrils flare. She’s angry and it’s beautiful. The glow around her changes colors, darker now. “Who’s going to protect me from you? You’re kidnappers.”
“You’re our mate. We didn’t have a choice.” And that’s all she needs to know. Dusk and Onyx watch her intently. I think they’re hoping for any sign that she realizes this mate bond between us can’t be ignored.
But I can already read her feelings well. Whether it’s from the trauma of losing the man she believed was her mate or something else, she’s blocked her awareness of this tie between us. It can’t last forever, but her disbelief of the truth will certainly make things harder.
Dusk puts an arm around her and hauls her into his side. Her eyes go wide, and she shoves against him, glaring. Then, she crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at all of us as if her eyes alone could make us all disappear in a puff of smoke.
A look of hurt comes and goes in a flash across my little brother’s face, and my chest aches. After all he’s been through, he deserves to have this one thing go smoothly. When he’s ready and willing to give all his love and affection to one person, it only seems fair the woman should want him back. But nothing in our lives has gone the way it was supposed to, so it’s no surprise to me this hasn’t either.
Unfortunately, my brother has always been a bit of an optimist.
I slide my gaze back to her and see the defiance in her eyes. It hits me that this stubborn woman still doesn’t understand. Even after we’ve explained that she’d be in danger without us, she thinks that going home is what’s best for her. And a thought like that could just get her killed. “You cannevergo home. Do you understand me?”
She frowns, then stares into the fire. “I’m going home.”
“No.”
The fire crackles, spits embers into the air, and she watches them while I watch her. The light shines off her hair, giving it an even more golden glow, mimicking the flames themselves. She’s holding her body rigid now, head straight, shoulders back. Defensive, ready to run. And as much as the desire to get away radiates off her, her resignation is only visible in the thin line of her lips.
Her attitude is an insult. It’s hurtful even, but I ignore it because she’s here and she hasn’t yet decided to leave. Although, she will, and then our game changes to something else. One where if she wins, she dies. And if we win, she might just die anyway.
She glances at me. It’s then, in that short look at her face, that I know. She’s planning something. An escape.
And it’s going to be up to me to stop her.
FIVE
Onyx
It was never my idea to have a mate. I hate the concept. To need someone, to want someone so much every decision and action is about them, their safety, their happiness. I don’t want my life to be tied so closely to anyone other than Phantom and Dusk.
I couldn’t stand the thought, and Istillcan’t stand the thought.
It’s why I wanted to leave her behind, why I wanted nothing to do with her… I hate fae. But even if I could get over my hatred of the people who kidnapped us and forced us to break every code of honor until we were no better than our captives, it’s more than that. No matter what she is, bringing her along brings her closer to the danger, and that’s on us.
I watch her though because she’s stunning. Fair, crystal-eyed, curved. She entices me to watch her with every tilt of her chin, every parting of her lips. I’m enthralled.
It’s the mate bond. I know it. But it doesn’t make me stop wanting her.
As a captive of the fae, I learned about them, their ways, the darkness they hide behind their light. I shudder as I think of it, and the woman turns to me. Her name is Ann, Mary Ann, to be exact, and she’s hiding behind her anger, hiding the real emotion she doesn’t want us to see.
“We should take her back.” I sign the words to Dusk and he shakes his head.
“No!” Phantom mouths the word as he signs. “She belongs here with us.”
“She doesn’t want to be here.” This isn’t a mystery. Her posture, the flare of hope in her eyes, the scent of her desperation all say that she’s looking for a way out, a gap where she can flee.
