Exhaustion tugged at me and I closed my eyes, allowing myself this moment to rest while knowing her heart still beat.
Her hand lifted and careful fingers ran through the black strands of my hair. I jerked away from her and my eyes met her gaze. Her skin glowed. “Jesus. Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through?” The admonishment came out before I could stop it.
Then another—
I lay in her bed. She was going to return. She said she’d return. But she didn’t. I waited anyway, knowing she’s with him. That I’m losing her.
The memory faded and all I saw was black. I wasn’t asleep. I was still in Inarus’ mind but there was nothing left to see. I waited for him to say something. To do something. But it was ominously quiet.
I chewed my lower lip. That had been… I wasn’t entirely sure.
A build-up of memories and emotions all leading up to —
A jolt, and I wasn’t in Inarus’ mind anymore. I opened my eyes to find a wide-awake Inarus and a pissed off Declan staring back at me. When had he come back? I thought—
Fury flooded my veins. I choked on the emotions.
But Declan wasn’t angry with me. No, he was furious with Inarus and I felt his rage coming off him in thick turbulent waves.
One of the benefits—or in this particular moment, drawbacks—to the mate bond was that strong emotions were often felt by the other party.
Inarus’ feelings where I was concerned were strong and I had no doubt Declan had experienced them just as I had while in his mind. This wasn’t good.
“I thought you had meetings…” I trailed off and then flinched when Declan turned his attention toward me.
Oblivious to the tension in the room, Dia wrapped her arms around her brother. “It’s good to have you back.”
Neither man in the room had taken his eyes off me. I didn’t know what to say or how to diffuse the bomb I knew was about to go off. My mind kept playing the sixth anchor memories again and again. None of them were significant but each one built upon the one before it. Each one strengthened and deepened his emotions where I was concerned.
There was a click. The sound was so sudden, I jumped.
I followed the noise and watched as the spelled cuff on Dia’s wrist opened and clattered to the floor. We all stared in stunned silence and she rubbed at her now exposed skin.
You had to be fucking kidding me.
7
The spelled cuff falling off Dia’s wrist created the distraction I’d needed and allowed me to drag Declan from the room while Dia—along with the Pack healers—fussed over Inarus.
A small part of me realized I was abandoning Inarus. Here he’d just woken up after being in a coma for nineteen days, and I took off at the first opportunity. But what else could I do? Memories and emotions that weren’t mine kept rushing to the forefront of my mind.
I needed to get away. I needed to go somewhere quiet where I could shove them into a box and bury them in the farthest corners of my mind. I knew why he’d been worried.
This would change things.
Hell, it was going to change everything. But only if I let it.
I couldn’t. He was too important to me. I’d lock it all away and never look at it again. In time, things would go back to normal. They had to.
Declan looked like he was seconds away from losing control. Something that almost never happened. I needed to clear my head. I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing.
Think of something else. Anything else.
Declan prided himself on always being in control of his beast.
I opened one eye and took him in. He was pacing now.
Thick black tiger stripes darkened his skin just beneath the surface. He hadn’t shifted, but he was close.
I sat on our bed, my feet tucked beneath me. Think about that old movie. What was it— Boondock Saints! I replayed the movie in my mind. Two brothers set out to bring down evil men. They smoked a lot and swore a lot and they were good looking as hell.
I twirled one of my daggers between my fingers. I tried to focus on the familiar movie instead of Inarus’ memories.
Whatever was going on in Declan’s head, he needed time to work it out.
Inarus had always been a sore spot between us.
I knew why but looking back, I don’t think I was ever truly interested in Inarus. I’d been hurt and he’d been there. At the time, I’d just wanted a say in my own relationship. I’d wanted a choice and Inarus had openly pursued me.
Being mate-claimed by Declan had made me feel trapped. Whether Declan was the right man for me or not at the time, didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I’d had no choice and because of that, I’d done everything I could to push Declan away—including taking off with Inarus and letting him kiss me.
Not my best moment.
But I didn’t want Inarus. I’d accepted Declan as my mate. I loved him and he loved me. How we found our way to one another didn’t matter. He was mine.
Explaining that to Declan wouldn’t lessen his agitation toward the man, though. Especially not after he experienced the full weight of Inarus’ feelings towards me.
Stop thinking about that!
A cell phone buzzed on the bedside table. I swiped the phone from the nightstand, answering without checking the calling I.D.
“Naveed,” I
