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“Do you want to know the truth about my pack?” he asked at last. “I didn’t foresee how weak my brothers would be in the face of a bond like this.”
The words, as strange as they were, gripped me, and I almost opened my eyes.
“They're more obsessed with you than I’m happy with,” he went on. “It’s not an accident that I visit alone, despite what Cerus might say.”
I saw his eyes flick to the armchair that was tipped over.
“They wanted you before your heat, but I don’t have faith that the experience won’t blind them. I don’t trust them not to sabotage this. When you go into heat with us, when we can claim you properly, then I’ll loosen their leashes.”
“If.”My word was a rasp, the first I’d had the courage to say.
His grip on my chin dug in and he let out a breath of amusement. “Vex,youhad so little faith that they would save you, that you didn’t lie with your mate. I think we can begin discussing our future together.”
My heart sank, goosebumps rising on my skin. He had it wrong.
He was stroking my hair, the touch frighteningly gentle. “I’m going to hide you away so well, they will never find you. They’ll spend the rest of their lives knowing you’re out there, unable to find you. Unable to touch us for fear of what might happen if they do…”
I took a breath, shoving away his words. I had trusted Ebony.
Ididtrust him.
They would save me.
Yet, I couldn’t open my mouth to say it, all my instincts screaming at me not to.
“I could reject that princess bond tonight,” he said. “End it now.”
I grit my teeth, forcing down my rapid breaths as ice slid through my veins.
“But look what you’ve made of me, Vex. Fighting my own…” He sighed.
I couldn’t focus on anything but those words.
I could reject the princess bond tonight.
One errant moment, one choice from him, and this could all come crashing down. I couldn’t move, didn’t know how to speak.
“But see, look at you.” He drew my chin to face him. “I’m no fool. I know you’re appeasing me. Does it help you relax to know I won’t do it?”
A low breath of relief escaped my chest at those words.
He laughed, drawing me closer. “They won’t save you. I just need you to see it for yourself. To understand how lucky you are that I’ve decided I want you after all. I know you’ll come around. You’ll choose right. Evenyouknow, deep down, they will leave you behind.”
What was he saying?
“That after tomorrow, you’ll only have me.”
“I thought… you wanted them to trade for me.” My voice trembled.
“The truth?” Zeus breathed. “He will not give what I ask. He was never supposed to.”
I shook my head. “I d-don’t understand.”
“The trick was never you. It was him. He’s going to leave you, and when he does, he’ll break them.”
Ebony. I knew he was talking about Ebony.
“But you wanted them to fall for me,” I said.
