AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was a strong hold he had over her.”
I looked at Lorenzo. “How the hell did he manage to get to her mind in the first place?”
He indicated that we should leave the room. “Let’s get Jeanie to watch over your mate while we discuss this. Your wounds.” He pointed to my hands, which were already starting to heal. “Need cleaning.”
“There’s blood on the duvet. I don’t want Donna to wake up to this.” I could only imagine how stressed that would make her.
“I’m sure Jeanie has a spare one. Now, come. Donna is safe, and I’ve put her back into a deep sleep to aid with her recovery. She’ll be like this for a few hours.” Isabella smiled.
The last thing I wanted to do was leave her. Jeanie was outside the door, worry lines creasing her brow. I heard Mac bustling about in the kitchen. I sent a reassuring smile her way and she slumped against me.
“She’s going to be okay, Jeanie. We need to talk. Do you think you could look after her for me?”
“Of course I can.” She looked at my bloodied hands.
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “Could you get a fresh duvet and take the other away from Donna, please? Get Mac to burn it. I don’t want her to see what she did. You won’t disturb her. She’ll be asleep for a while.”
With a quick kiss on my cheek, she squeezed my arm and headed to fetch another duvet.
“Gustav is getting stronger every day. You need to destroy him sooner rather than later. He’s in your territory; the two of you can end his life. And you know what that means,” Lorenzo warned me.
This was the thing about the Fates and how they had everything set in stone. One of the rules was only a Hybrid and his mate could completely destroy the demon wreaking havoc in their lands.Thanks again, Fates, for making this so challenging.
I slumped in a chair and ran a hand across my eyes, sighing. “I know that, but before it can be achieved, I have a lot to do. First, I need to convince Donna I’m not a cult leader, then I have to explain about being fated mates…” I grimaced at the next part. “Then I must ask her to take my blood so I can keep her safe.”
I didn’t even want to think about the mating ritual where we’d take each other’s blood so I could convert her to a Hybrid.
“I know it’s hard, Antoine. You can’t leave it for too long, though. She needs to be converted for her safety and yours.”
Isabella was right.
“Before that, how do you think Gustav managed to trap Donna like this?”
“I imagine he’d killed her parents first. In her grief, she’d be weak and susceptible. It would be easy to start chipping away at her and enter her mind. Probably chanted over her while she slept.”
I didn’t like Lorenzo’s response, and I growled to think that he’d gotten to her while she was suffering from grief.
“I guess that once he was in her head and he started to deconstruct the rest of her life, it was easy to attack her while she was vulnerable,” I said.
“Hmm.” Lorenzo tapped his chin. “Then all he needed to do was say the same things to her over and over in her mind until she believed them. You were so close to losing her, Antoine.”
“I know, and it terrifies me.”
“We will stay until she wakes up so we can help you to explain the basics of our world, but the rest is up to you. You have your copy of our histories, don’t you?”
At Isabella’s question, I glanced down the hallway to where my library was. “Yes, I do.”
“That’s good. It’ll help.”
A worrying thought came to me. “When she discovers all that’s happened to her, what if she blames me for everything?” Chills covered me. “After all, if she wasn’t my fated mate, none of this would’ve taken place.” I groaned and shook my head.
Isabella stood in front of me. “You must make her see that it wasn’t your fault, Antoine. Be honest and open with her.” She studied me before continuing. “No one ever said being mated was easy. But you’ll get through this.”
She threw a meaningful glance Lorenzo’s way. He coughed and looked embarrassed, and I wondered what had happened when they’d first met. Maybe I’d ask Sal and Luca if they knew. But not now. I had more important things to consider such as the safety and protection of my mate.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
Lorenzo headed for the kitchen. “For now, we eat, and then we wait for Donna to wake.”
