“She needs me to stabilize her?”
“Yep.”
Andi looked up at Ridge. He looked down at her.
“I’m pretty stable already,” Andi commented.
“Are you now?” Lux asked. “Because twice now, your crazy ass cat has taken over your body and refused to allow you back out.”
Andi pressed her lips together. There was nothing she could say to counter his claim.
“So, what does this have to do with a blood bond?” Ridge asked.
“Simple,” Lux replied. “You and Andi exchange blood. Her panther is then linked to you. Therefore, you control it.”
“And her.” Ridge’s words were more of a statement than a question.
“Correct,” Lux answered.
“No.” Andi chimed in. There was no way she would willingly allow someone to control her.
“It’s either that.” Lux shrugged. “Or I put you down.”
Ridge moved to stand in front of her. Protective. Solid.
“None of this makes any sense,” Andi sighed. “I’ve never had an issue with my panther until I met Ridge.”
Ridge turned around and stared at her, brows low. “What?”
“She’s never fought me for control.” Andi shook her head. “Until I met you. Now, anytime you’re near she wants out.”
“That’s because she has claimed Ridge as her mate,” Lux replied. “And you haven’t jumped on board, so to speak.”
“So, if I do this blood bond, she’ll chill out?” Andi asked.
“Basically,” Lux answered.
“Basically?” Andi wasn’t convinced.
“It may take a full mating, but I don’t think so,” Lux explained. “The animal just seems to want something of its own.”
She shook her head.
Was Lux telling the truth?
She closed her eyes and tried to center herself. Mate… Mine… Mate… Andi listened to the soft chant of her panther. Was that what all of this was really about? Was her animal just after something to call its own? Andi had never thought about them as two separate beings. What was Andi’s, was also her animal’s.
Lies, her cat said. You hide me.
I protect us.
No, I protect us.
Andi sighed.
“What would this blood bond mean?” Andi asked. “Exactly.”
“It would mean, Ridge is bound to you and your animal,” Lux replied. “Think of it as an unbreakable vow.”
“What makes it different than mating?”
“Sex.”
Andi’s face heated.
“While Ridge will have sway over your animal,” Lux added. “You will still be fully capable of making your own decisions, Andi. A blood bond does not remove your free will.”
Andi sighed. She looked up at Ridge to see him staring at her. “Is this what you want?” she asked him.
“I want you safe,” he replied.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
Andi nodded. “Do it.”
Ridge nodded once. “What do we do?”
She watched as Lux pulled a pocketknife from his pocket and handed it to Ridge. When he flipped the blade open, her stomach flipped. Andi thought she would be sick.
Ridge walked behind her and cut her binds. Once free, she shook out her arms to get the blood flowing back to her limbs and rubbed her hands together. She hadn’t realized how cold they had gotten.
Still sitting in the chair, she watched as Ridge moved around in front of her and crouched down, waiting for Lux’s instructions.
“Each of you will cut the other,” Lux said. “Then press the cuts against each other. The transfer of blood will seal the bond.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Andi muttered.
“Just breathe,” Ridge whispered.
Andi stared into his eyes as he regulated his breathing to match hers. Together, they inhaled and exhaled until finally, Andi’s breathing slowed to a normal speed.
“There you go.” Ridge grinned.
Andi tried to smile back, but it was too much work at the moment. Instead, she focused on continuing her leveled breathing, hoping not to hyperventilate.
Her eyes widened as Ridge passed her the knife and held out his hand.
“Just cut my palm,” he told her.
Grabbing the knife with a shaky hand, Andi pressed the blade where he indicated. Making a small cut, she watched as the blood welled up and tried her best to keep the bile from rising in her throat.
Ridge grabbed the knife and reached out for her hand. In one quick movement, before Andi could process what he was doing, he cut a matching slice in her hand. The sting caused her to wince.
Ridge gripped her hand in his.
At first, Andi felt nothing. “Is that it?”
Ridge looked back at Lux.
Then, suddenly, Andi felt like a snake was slithering up her arm. But not just any snake. It felt like this one was on fire. The burn was intense. She tried to pull away, but she couldn’t. It seemed like some magical force was holding their hands together.
Andi screamed.
“What the fuck is happening, Lux?” Ridge shouted.
“It’s the bond.”
Her body felt like it was on fire. Her lungs burned. She couldn’t breathe. Andi clawed at her skin trying to remove the invisible flames that licked over her flesh.
“Help me!” Ridge shouted.
But Lux didn’t move.
This was it. Lux had played them both for fools.
There was no bond. Andi was dying.
She felt as if her insides were boiling. At any moment, she would explode into flames.
And then just as suddenly as it started – it was gone.
And with it, the light.
25
Ridge
Andi collapsed in his arms.
Ridge stared down at his mate, searching her face. He could hear the steady beat of her heart and knew she was alive, but that didn’t stop the fear and concern he felt.
“What the fuck, man?” Ridge said to Lux. “What the hell happened?”
“I told you,” Lux replied. “The bond.”
“You didn’t say it would cause her physical pain!”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Man, fuck you!”
Ridge picked Andi up and carried her out the door.
“Where are you going?” Lux called.
“I’m taking my mate home.”
“Ridge!” Lux called.
Ridge stopped and turned.
“Good luck.”
Ridge turned back toward Andi’s car. “Open the door,” he ordered a prospect.
He gently set her on the passenger seat and buckled the seatbelt to hold her in place. Closing the door, he ran around the car and hopped behind the wheel. Turning the key, he dropped the car into reverse and floored the gas.
Smashing through the gate, he
