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Drake was a part of their past, and I could never allow any trade to go through that might put him back in harm’s way.
No matter what it meant for me.
TEN
LOVE
I had to haul Rook from the limo with Ebony.
He was gone. There was a void where he’d been in the bond. It was like he’d just… vanished. The experience even drew Ebony short, I could see it in his slight crease of a frown.
He wouldn’t let the book go, and I had no idea what it was, but I could feel the creeping dread in my system as I stared at it clutched in Rook’s shaking fist. Drake and Vex were gone. He’d carried her back to the house, his fury through the bond, as suffocating as Rook’s absence.
I could, at least, trust Drake to take care of her.
When we get him into the living room, Rook slumped on a couch, setting the notebook down at last. Ebony grabbed it before me. He lingered on the first page, eyes narrowed as he scanned the text. Then he flicked through the rest of the book quickly—too quickly, jaw clenched and expression dark. He hesitated only on one page, I noticed. The way his frame tensed slightly was the only giveaway that something had bothered him. Then he handed the book to me.
“They’re trying to get in our heads,” he said. “And apparently”—he nodded to Rook—“it’s working.”
I opened the first page, scanning it, heart dropping like a stone as I read the words scrawled across the page. There was no way I could read the rest like Ebony had, each one would be a dagger in my chest. But even if I could I wouldn’t, not unless she knew. She’d begged us not to open that door, and now…
“We fucked up.” Rook’s voice was hoarse as he looked at Ebony. “We chose wrong.”
With difficulty, I ripped my mind from the horror of the page I’d just read. I had to deal with this.
“We didn’t,” Ebony said as if it were that simple. “The outcome doesn’t change anything.”
Rook gave him a sickened look. “We should have listened to her—”
“There was no choice.” Ebony glared at Rook. “Our mate was dumped from a limo in a parking lot. When we got there, it was still there. There’s only theillusionof choice so she’d hate us for it.”
“She told us not to,” Rook spat. “She told us not to, and we didn’t listen to her.”
“Because she’s fucking dark bonded!”
Rook was back on his feet, anger finally forging past apathy. “Of course it doesn’t bother you,” he snarled. “You’re a fucking void, Ebony. Why did I think that might change because of her?”
“Because,” Ebony sneered, rounding on him. “You’ve still never cultivated two healthy brain cells to rub together in that petri dish you call a—”
“You won’t see her. Not unless she asks for you,” I said, cutting them off before auras got involved again. “We can’t fight like this. It’s what they want.” I hated to admit anything Ebony said was right. “We all want the same thing.”
“Do we all want the same thing?” Rook demanded, flicking a hand in Ebony’s direction. “Because he doesn’t seem to give a fuck.” He looked incensed for a moment. “How can you read that without blinking?”
“I want her safe,” Ebony said. “And you two are more worried about her liking you.”
“I want her happy!” I snapped. “What’s the point in any of this if we destroy her ourselves?”
“You’re too emotional,” Ebony shot back. “Is she going to be happy if she ends up with that pack? We have her back, and we still have no idea what they want. We need to get ahead. If that means she cries over me reading that book, then Rook’s right—I don’t give a fuck!” He was in my face, lip curled, fist balled in my shirt and voice raised. “I can make my mate happy when she’s not dark bonded to vermin.”
Then he shoved past me toward his room, leaving me and Rook alone.
“Fuck.” Rook hissed. Then he kicked the coffee table hard enough to send it toppling. “Fuck!”
With that, he was gone too, vanishing into his room. We were the only pack in the world who could save her, and we were falling apart, piece by piece.
Come the negotiation, would there be a pack to back her at all?
* * *
