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For you. For your family. Now, for my son.
“I don’t believe that shit.”
“I don’t care what you believe, Laz. It’s the gotdamn truth.”
“How do you know her lineage? She’s never said anything about this curse. Don’t you think she would have? She knows you two are fated.”
“She doesn’t know her lineage. Not that part, as far as I can tell.”
“Then how the fuck do you know?”
“That ring she wears.”
“What ring?”
“It’s a gold band with a rune inscribed in the metal. I recognized it a few weeks after she got here. Something about the ring kept nagging at me but I didn’t know why. I asked where she’d gotten it and she told me the ring had been passed down from her great-great-grandmother through the family until it ended up with her mother who left it for Toyin. My attraction to her has always been strong…”
“She’s your mate.”
“It’s not just that. She’s also forbidden, which doesn’t make any sense. I knew she was my mate but something in me realized I couldn’t have her. If I claim Toyin, she’ll remember who she is. She’ll remember the lineage and I’ll have to kill her before she has a chance to harm one of us.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“I do. It’s that gotdamn ring. Dad had one. I didn’t believe the stories Mom told us about staying away from witches. He showed me the ring as a warning when he’d caught me sneaking around with one. The ring had belonged to the witch he’d killed after she murdered an alpha and his entire pack. A really good friend of his had died with that pack.”
“Merren,” Laz mumbled lowly. He knew the story about how Merren had lost his life and his pack. “That’s why you’ve rejected her all this time? You believe the stories are true and that she’s…”
“The storiesaretrue and she is a descendant of the Sovran Coven. She has the ring. It belongs in her family which means she shares their bloodline and the curse. I love her, Laz. I think I have from the minute I found her in that damn coffee shop but if I claim Toyin and seal our bond, accepting what the Moon Goddess believes to be my destiny…”
“You’ll have to kill her before she kills you.”
I nodded tightly.
“What if that’s not your destiny? Things could be different now. That was centuries ago. The curse dates back a millennium.”
“I can’t take that chance. There’s always a possibility that we somehow survive this but if I’m wrong?” I shook my head. “No matter how I feel about her, I won’t put myself or my family at risk.”
“I thought all this time you were just being an ass. I know our parents frowned on us mating anyone other than our kind but your resistance to Toy was more than our parents’ beliefs or expectations. You’re afraid.”
I glared at my brother. I didn’t fear a damn thing.
He smirked. “Not that kind of fear, Xan. I’m speaking of the kind that comes from wanting those you love to be safe. Youfearthat she’ll get hurt so you’ve been keeping your distance. You’ve rejected Toy because you want her in your life the only way you can have her, at a distance.”
I nodded again. There was no point in lying.
“So then explain how the fuck you have a son? Why would you cross that line and risk losing control enough to possibly claim her?”
Sex with your chosen one was so intense that there was little to no restraint. I understood that now. I’d learned the night of Laz and Jo’s mating ceremony. It took all my will not to claim Toyin. The mark had almost happened. My teeth grazed her skin but I pulled back, knowing I could have fucked up. That one misstep was why I’d left. I was so pissed and I’d only lost control because she’d made me.
Magic.
“She did something. I don’t know what.” I frowned hard.
“You’re saying she used magic and you don’t remember being with her.”
No, I fucking remembered. Every kiss, every touch, the way she screamed my name…
“I don’t know why I gave in. She had to have done something. I’ve never lost control that way before. I never would have on my own.”
