Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“Push the cabinet back,” I order, already moving, already fucking hating it. I dress and climb onto the edge of the window with inhuman speed.
She jumps up and runs on tiptoes to follow me, stopping me for one final kiss that almost undoes me entirely.
I almost don’t stop.
I almost don’t leave.
But instead, I nod for her to shut the window and put my palm against the glass, mouthing, I’ll see you tomorrow.
She nods and pulls down the shade, and with no other option, I drop directly to the grass below.
The fantasy of tonight has ended, and reality is back with a slap.
But the bond doesn’t loosen.
If anything, it tightens and tugs and threatens to pull me back toward her with every step away I take.
My muscles shake and my mind frenzies as I work my way through the woods toward my brothers’ villa on the far side of the property.
I knew leaving Romy after completing the bond would be bad—but I had no idea of the intensity.
Withdrawal makes my skin pebble, and my brow shines with sweat. I feel nauseated, and the pit in my gut sits heavy like lead. My movements are still sharp but notably sluggish, and my chest rages with a burning tightness the likes of which I’ve never felt before.
I don’t regret what we did, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t underestimate the effect.
With one last burst after surveilling the open space between the edge of the hedgerow and their villa, I run to the door and through it, Kane having been standing at the ready as I arrived. He puts a finger to his lips in welcome and then ushers me to the living room, where Blair and Kylie are both sleeping. They look like they’re out—exhausted, no doubt, from days on end of isolation, fear, and helplessness—but the last thing I want is for one of them to awaken to my brothers and me strategizing while I look like this.
I jerk my chin toward the women. “Maybe we should leave them out of this.”
“Let’s go in the kitchen,” Kane agrees, prompting Rook to extricate himself from Kylie and follow along.
I go straight to the cabinet for a glass, fill it with water from the tap, and down it in one swig.
Kane wastes no time pointing out the unorthodox action. “Okay…so…you’re drinking now? Like…a human? What the hell is going on, Cal?”
I shake my head. “I’m…feeling sick. And I thought it might help.”
“Feeling sick?” Rook interjects. “We don’t get sick.”
I close my eyes and scrub at my face, beating him back as he tries to get inside my mind with a familiar hammer. It’s a cheap bastard move, attempting to get the answers to all his questions without giving me a chance to speak for myself, but if I saw him in this condition and had his ability, I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same.
I look as rough as I feel and, put simply, that can be summed up in two words—like hell.
“Okay, Cal. What’s going on? What the hell happened after the mixer tonight? Last time we checked in, you were talking to the Viking-looking brothers from Hanover and listening to Lucian and the Council wax poetic about tomorrow’s ceremonies. Is it Romy? Did she not make it back to her room safely or something?”
“I…” I shake my head.
“Spit it out,” Kane insists. “We can’t deal with it if we don’t know.”
“Romy’s safe. At least…as safe as this shit gets. But after we were dismissed from the mixer, and after things quieted down in all the vampire villas, I went back to Romy’s room.”
“You snuck in again?”
I nod. “Not only that. We…mated.”
“Oh shit,” Rook groans. “You completed the bond. Tonight.”
I nod, rubbing at my eyes and willing them not to cross. The feeling of codependency is shattering. I can barely maintain my fucking posture, let alone function normally.
“And then you left?” Kane asks incredulously. “That can’t be good.”
“It’s not,” I agree. “It’s very, very bad. I don’t know how the fuck I’m gonna go on with my day tomorrow like nothing’s happening. I’m locked up. My fucking muscles are cramping. I feel like I could pass out.”
“Well, fuck, dude. What are we supposed to do? How can we help you?”
Sarcasm heightened by my very real suffering, I don’t hesitate to snap back. “Oh, I don’t know. We could start by figuring this shit out so we can dismantle the fucking Council, ruin the auction, free these women, set things right, and go back to living normal lives so I can be with my fucking mate. Or second option, I’m going back to Romy’s fucking room, kidnapping her ass just like you fuckers did, and hightailing it out of state to live on the run.”
“Right,” Kane agrees, his wide eyes finding Rook’s, brows waggling.