“Alright then.” He leaned forward briefly, but then pulled back as if suddenly remembering we weren’t alone.
Disappointment radiated through me. Declan had never been one to shy away from public displays of affection in front of the Pack, but Dia wasn’t Pack.
“Lunch?”
I nodded. “Lunch.”
“It’s a date then.” He sank so much innuendo into that one sentence that heat quickly rushed toward my cheeks.
Calm down. It’s just lunch.
“It’s a date,” I agreed.
Declan left and I turned to find a wide-eyed Dia staring at me.
“What?” Was there syrup on my face or something?
“He really loves you?” She sounded surprised.
I folded my arms across my chest and glared at her. “I would hope so.” I was his mate and according to the shifters, it was more binding than marriage. A mate bond took the whole till death do us part to a completely different level. In many cases, if one mate died, the other soon followed. Not always right away. It could be a few hours and sometimes even days but the other individual almost always died. The loss of a mate was too much for their beast to bear.
Declan and I hadn’t jumped into this whole mating thing feet first. And it definitely hadn’t been all sunshine and roses.
No, we’d had our share of ups and downs. That was to be expected since his beast had chosen me and Declan had bitten me—forming the bond—without my consent.
In his defense, I’d been dying at the time. He’d saved me by claiming me as his mate and dumping a well full of Pack strength into me to keep me from walking toward that bright shiny light and the pearly gates but in the moment, I’d felt trapped. Forced into a relationship I hadn’t wanted with someone I didn’t even like.
A lot had changed since then.
Dia made a sound of disgust in the back of her throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s get to work.” Her eyes were worried. Did she not want Declan to love me? It shouldn’t matter to her one way or the other. Right?
I decided not to respond to the barb and instead took the seat on the opposite side of the bed, sinking my mind into Inarus’.
The sooner I did this, the sooner we could kick Dia out of the Compound. I looked forward to the days when I didn’t have to see her every single day.
It was easier this time. His mind was like a lighthouse, illuminating the way for me. There was no door to knock on. No question to ask. I was able to just walk into his mind and find him waiting for me.
Aria? Relief flooded into me.
Guilt flashed through me. I’d left him here, trapped in his own mind while I went and took a thirteen-hour nap. Some friend I was.
But before I could apologize, something tugged at my mind. A sense of urgency I couldn’t ignore.
“Pull me out.”
“I can’t. We need the sixth—”
“I know, dammit.” Agitation.
I waited. I could almost see him pacing in my mind’s eye.
“This will change things. I need you to understand I’m not going to do anything. I won’t interfere. I need you to understand that. To promise me this will stay here. Right here.”
He wasn’t making any sense.
“Inarus, it’ll be alright.”
“No, it won’t. Not if—”
“Not if what?”
A sigh. There was so much defeat in his next words.
“Not if I lose you…” his words whispered through my mind as he tugged me toward a beacon—the sixth and final anchor point I’d need. I didn’t have time to think about what he’d said before his memories stood before me.
He stared at me. It was the strangest sensation, looking at myself through his eyes. It took me a moment to place the time and location.
We were on the roof of the Compound. It was raining. A slow drizzle quickly morphed into a torrential downpour.
Inarus hated the rain. It was cold and wet. He was staring at me like I’d grown a second head because I loved it. I loved the rain and damp air. It was stamped across my features as I stood out in the open, arms spread wide and face tilted toward the sky.
My hair stuck to my face. My clothing hugged my body. And despite knowing that I was a complete mess, he thought I was more beautiful than I’d ever been.
The longer Inarus stared—the longer I stared through his eyes—the quicker the emotions change.
He was no longer annoyed I was making him stand out in the cold. He …
The memory faded but I’m still in Inarus’ mind. Still heading toward the sixth and final anchor. A new memory surfaced.
Inarus was sitting on a roof once again. Not that of the Compound, but one that looked out over the city. He was alone. It was raining.
He was waiting for something or someone, but I didn’t know who or what.
I gazed out through the streets, recognizing Sanborn Place a few blocks away.
The rain picked up. I saw my Civic drive toward the building. Longing pressed down on me, a deep ache in my chest.
I knew I wouldn’t see her but I waited anyway for the chance to glimpse her. The rain… it was a reminder.
This one faded away. But still I was being tugged forward.
I ported into a barn filled with straw, and narrowly avoided a dagger lobbed at my heart. She was angry. I liked her anger. It was better than her hate.
Another memory rushed toward me.
She was asleep. I looked down at her and fear burrowed its way into my chest. I leaned over her and rested my
