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“Danni, answer me,” my mom interjected. “Where are you?”
The suspense would kill her. She wasn’t going to like what I had to say, but it was better than me holding out on her. Or lying.
“Blood and Beryl,” I finally admitted.
“For passage to Earth and Emerald, right?” Adora asked, doubt and concern lacing her voice. “Right?”
“No,” I whispered. “I’m, um . . . I’m a member of the House now.” A collective gasp came from the trio on the other line. My mother choked on a sob. “So is Markus,” I added.
My sister began shouting. “What the hell is that douchebag doing there? You didn’t agree to the mate bond, did you? Please tell me you didn’t.”
I filled them in. How Markus had found me in No Man’s Land. How he’d followed me like a lost puppy. Stupid bond. I explained how I’d ended up in a confrontation with Fire and Fluorite. How I’d ended up getting in a truck with the King of Blood and Beryl.
“Elias?” Abbey said skeptically, slowing down her speech and lowering her voice. “What did he want in return?” My mom muttered curses. She knew his reputation, more so than I did, it would seem. For all the time she kept quiet and out of House politics, she was aware of far more than she let on.
“It’s . . . complicated.” I exhaled, knowing I couldn’t tell them all the details. That was part of the deal. No one could know it was all a ruse. “Look, you’re going to hear some rumors real soon. Probably tomorrow. I need you to think critically when you hear them. You know me. You know what I did tonight. You know who I truly am inside. So when the news hits, think,” I pressed.
After a long pause, my mom said, “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”
I snorted. “That was essentially my thinking too.”
“I can’t believe you saved Markus. Twice,” Adora muttered. “It’s not like he’d do the same for you.”
“He did,” I pointed out. “Tonight. He refused to kill me, and you know it.”
“Whatever. Once. He did the right thing one time,” my sister grumbled in response.
“That one right thing saved Danni’s life,” Abbey said, chastising her, and my sister apologized.
Adora had been there. She knew. I understood how upsetting this was for her, for those exact reasons. She’d been there almost every time I’d been tormented. Beat up. Humiliated. Bullied. She’d witnessed what had happened tonight. I wasn’t mad at her. If our situations were reversed, I would’ve struggled with it all too.
“What does whatever this agreement with Blood and Beryl is mean for you and Markus?” my mom asked.
“There is no ‘me and Markus.’ The sooner he sees that, the better off he’ll be,” I muttered. My so-called mate. I still needed to talk to him. “I don’t know how any of this is going to go down. I just know that it’s only about to get worse. Mathis is going to blow a gasket. You need to be prepared.”
Silence ensued and I could just picture my mom and Abbey giving each other “the look” as they quietly understood what I meant, and no doubt agreed.
Be ready to leave. Fight or flight. In this case, they’d need to choose flight. My mom may have been the Alpha female thirty years ago, but she was one wolf. She might stand a chance against our pack, but the rest of Fire and Fluorite? The witches? The vamps?
She may be the most badass woman I’d ever known, but not even my mom could take on all of them.
A knock sounded at the door, and I called out, telling whoever it was to give me a moment.
“I have to go,” I whispered. “I’ll call you again, okay? Be safe. I love you guys.”
The three people who meant the most to me in this shit world all rushed to say they loved me too, talking over each other. I hung up, then turned to the door, appreciating that Elias was nice enough to knock.
When I swung it open, my already bad mood sank further. It wasn’t Elias.
It was Markus.
My expression soured at his presence, but I did need to talk to him.
Sighing, I opened the door all the way.
A look of mild surprise and a muttered thanks followed as he came into my new room. Looking around, he found a chair by the fireplace and sat down. Nova lifted her head from the Persian rug she’d lain on and let out a growl. He had the good sense to look down at his hands as I took a seat opposite him and readied myself for the conversation at hand.
“I didn’t expect you to invite me in,” he said, breaking the silence.
