“I’ll explain it later, Princess. Right now, we have another problem.”
“Of course we do. What now?”
“I found out why they want to kill you, and why they took you first. They are willing to kill you because they have cloned you. They don’t need you anymore, and you being alive is a threat to their plans. They were going to essentially download your memories so they can put them in the clone. The clone is programmed to be their puppet, but to make it realistic, they wanted your memories. I don’t know if they got them.”
“That’s ridiculous, Kait. How could they have a clone of me? It would be a baby, not fully grown. That whole thing doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, Hunter believed it fully, and it seemed like he had seen the clone of you.” Kait still seemed sure of himself.
“Whatever. They are a threat, and I will treat them as such, but I don’t believe they have a clone of me. That’s just stupid. Now, explain why I was about to cry when I walked in here.”
“You are making a huge mistake discounting the clone idea, Evalia.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Fine, moving on. I told you that as our bond grows, telepathy will be easier, and you will have a hard time blocking your thoughts from us.”
“Yes.”
“It goes the other way, too. Even though you have no natural telepathy, you will be able to hear or feel us even when we are not projecting to you.”
“Fuck. This is a pain in the ass, Kait! Am I never going to be alone in my own head again?”
“No, and neither will we. Stop whining about it. I, for one, am glad to make this small sacrifice for love.”
“Pffft.” I don’t know what had gotten into me, but I was feeling extremely argumentative, and his logic was just pissing me off. “Is that all?”
“Yes. For now. You need to go calm down.”
I mocked him as I walked out, miming his words. Having them in my head all the time was going to suck, love or no love. I would never be able to tell a white lie about my shopping or presents or anything. I didn’t sign up for that. Yes, Kait had mentioned it, but it didn’t sink in before. Besides, how were we supposed to have a proper argument if we are all feeling each other’s feelings? It would get heated pretty damn quick. It dawned on me then that I was reflecting David’s current mental state. What had him in such a tizzy? I turned around and went back.
There were raised voices in the room I had just left. Kait was yelling at someone.
“I don’t care that you killed them, I care about what was in your head when you did. It’s one thing to kill to protect, it’s another to kill because you enjoyed it.”
There was a mumbled response, but I couldn’t make out who was speaking.
“Figure it out!” This from Kait again.
The door flew open, and Kait was staring at me. “Go to your room, Princess, this doesn’t concern you.” I attempted to peek around him, but he was positioned in such a way that I couldn’t see into the room.
“Okay.” I turned on my heel and went to my room as commanded. Travis was waiting for me in bed, with the covers pulled up to his chin.
“It’s not my turn, but David and Kait are busy, so I figured I would wait with you until Kait comes.”
I snickered as I sat down on the bed next to him. “Why aren’t you reflecting David’s moods, too?”
“My bond is with you, Babe, not David. So, I don’t pick up on him or Kait, only you. Why are you in such a mood?”
Sighing, I said, “I don’t know. David is sad and mad at the same time, and I seem to be feeling the same things he is. I have enough mood swings on my own, I don’t want to take on your emotional states as well. This is going to suck.”
Travis held out his arms. This time, I shook my head. He put his arms down but didn’t seem to be mad about it. “I get it. The thing is, like Kait said, I am glad to make the sacrifice for love. I don’t really even think of it as a sacrifice.”
“But, you grew up with that. Aren’t your parents bonded?”
“Since Mom is human, they are not bonded the same way. She doesn’t have the magic to bond on her side, but Dad is bonded to her. Their bond is more one way. Dad can hear her thoughts, but she can’t hear his.”
“Oh, that would be worse.”
He nodded. “She used to complain about it when I was younger, but she really doesn’t anymore. I was worried about us when I realized we all bonded you. David and Kait can naturally read your mind, and I can’t. I was worried that they would be able to tell what you wanted and needed more than I would, and it would put me at a disadvantage. I’m glad the bond has allowed me to read you better. I don’t feel so out of place now.”
I just stared at him. It never occurred to me that he would feel that way. “If it makes you feel better, sometimes I think them being able to read minds is a giant pain in the ass. I mean, I won’t be able to ever surprise any of you, and heaven forbid I think something horrible about you guys while we are fighting. I have to worry about what I think as well as what I say.”
“Ah, you get used to that too. I used to worry about it when we were younger, because Kait used to piss me off daily. But somehow he knows when you’re just thinking those things because you’re mad compared to
