“If we ignore it long enough, maybe it’ll just go away,” I suggested.
He nodded, not looking convinced, but I didn’t have the energy to analyze whatever that had been. “You said the connection would fade, right?” I asked Dia.
She shrugged her shoulders, color seeping back into her face now that she could breathe. “Eventually.”
Good enough for me. “See.”
Inarus offered a weak smile. I wasn’t sure if he was disappointed by my unflappable attitude where this whole emotional bond thing was concerned or if he was just embarrassed.
I decided it had to be the latter and moved to grab a drink. It would go away. With any luck it would happen sooner rather than later, and not while I was in the middle of an actual fight for my life.
I yanked the hair tie out of my hair and re-braided my hair as Dia strode up beside me. “Thanks,” she muttered under her breath.
She chanced a look over her shoulder, making sure the guys were out of earshot as I passed her a water bottle.
“What are you thanking me for exactly?” I asked warily, lifting a single brow.
She huffed. “I didn’t realize the whole …” she waved a hand in the air. “You know.”
I really didn’t though.
“What are you talking about?”
Her upper lip curled. “I didn’t understand the whole mate bond thing. Not until I saw you and Declan together the other day.”
“O-kay.” Where was she going with this?
She heaved out an exasperated breath. “Look. This is weird. Okay? But I appreciate you not making Inarus feel like shit for having feelings for you. I thought maybe you were stringing him along but the other day … ” She shook her head. “Just, thank you.”
I nodded. I had no idea what to say but if this was her way of extending an olive branch, I’d take it. Before I could respond, she turned away and marched over to her brother.
I considered her words for another minute before shrugging and turning my attention to Jason.
“So, any news?” I asked him.
“Most of the psykers will have been evacuated by now. Declan is giving us access to one of his properties in Priest River, Idaho.”
I nodded. That was good. When we’d told Jason what we planned he’d kicked into overdrive to pull his people out. He didn’t want them injured and we didn’t want the extra muscle getting in the way. We had to assume we’d face humans with firearms and silver bullets. That was bad enough. No need to toss psychokinetic abilities into the mix.
“How many did you lose?”
A shrug. “It’s looking like seven.”
Okay. Not an ideal number but we could work with that.
“Can you tell me about them?” Before the question was out of my mouth he was already shaking his head.
“I like you, Aria. I do. And I appreciate everything Declan is doing for us. But I can’t. I reached out to you to save my people. Not to give you their weaknesses so you could take them out.”
I huffed and put my hands on my hips. “You make it sound like I’m going to try and assassinate them. I just want to know what we’re up against. I’m not on some psyker-killing mission.”
He held his hands out in supplication. “That may be, but we both know some of those who stayed behind, if not all of them, won’t make it out alive. I can’t have their deaths on my conscious.”
“Fine. But if one of them kills me, I’m coming back to haunt your ass.”
He laughed. “I can live with that.”
16
I showered, changed, and put on the fresh clothes that had been laid out for me. Yoga pants and a short-sleeved shirt that said Ringmaster of this shit show. Given what we were about to do, it seemed fitting.
I tied the laces on my steel-toed boots and slung my dagger sheath low across my hips before jogging outside where everyone was meeting up.
I spotted a familiar face in the growing crowd outside and sped towards him. Oh hell no.
“Caden, you’re not coming.”
He jumped and spun to face me, determination in his expression.
“I can fight,” he said, his voice firm.
I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not.”
He flinched, his expression now wary. “You don’t think I can?”
I gave a harsh sigh and pulled him away from the crowd of shifters, not that it would do much good. Shifter hearing made privacy nearly impossible.
“I know you can,” I told him.
“Then why?” His cognac eyes pleaded with me, but I wouldn’t change my mind about this.
I rubbed my forehead. Had I ever been this rash and impulsive at his age? The answer was a resounding yes. I was still often impulsive, but I was older than him. Had more experience with life-and-death situations.
Caden was only seventeen. At his age, I’d already been on my own but I shouldn’t have been. I shouldn’t have had to fend for myself the same way Caden shouldn’t be faced with a fight for his life. Not now. Not when he had a promising future ahead of him.
“I know you’re eager to prove yourself.” I fixed him with an unflinching gaze. “But you’re still young and —” he opened his mouth to speak but I pushed on not giving him the chance, “if what Brock says is true and you’re to be the Pack’s next Hunter then what you could do in the future is much more important than what you could do today.”
He gave me a sullen look. “I can do both. I can fight
