“Skender is telling the truth,” Lucian finally answered. “A Canis lupus male does not turn on his true mate. Can you hear his thoughts?”
Tenia nodded. “But I’ve been trying to keep him blocked.”
Lucian chuckled. “How’s that going for you?”
Tenia glanced at Peri. “Are they all this annoying?”
Peri nodded. “Unfortunately. It doesn’t matter whether they’re on the good team or the bad team, wolves are wolves.”
“His accent was like yours,” Tenia said as she looked back at Lucian.
“He was a member of the Romania pack,” Lucian said.
“Was?” Tenia said, her voice thick with emotion. “No longer?”
Lucian nodded.
The understanding was written on Tenia’s face. “So, he betrayed his pack.”
Lucian grimaced. Something like pain or sympathy appeared in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Tenia. Unfortunately, Skender has made a lot of bad decisions lately.”
“Lately?” Peri coughed. “That’s being generous. He’s been making terrible decisions for the better part of a year. He faked having a true mate for fu—”
“PERI,” Lucian snapped before she could finish her sentence.
Myanin saw the pain in Tenia’s eyes. She walked over to the female who’d been willing to stand between her and a high fae. Myanin bumped Tenia with her shoulder. It was as close to a hug as she could manage. Her magic was acting so weirdly, she almost worried it would try to grope Tenia. She didn’t need groper added to her list of none-too-charming personality traits.
“I’m sorry,” the djinn said gently. What else could she say? “It sucks your mate is a lying mutt who deserves to be castrated” seemed a bit inappropriate at the moment. Not to mention, she was still wrestling with her own inner turmoil. She deserved death, expected death, but wanted life. And now she was being slapped in the face with a warlock mate, who’d screwed her magic up so badly she was ready to quit being a warrior and become a temptress. The solid ground upon which Myanin had built her life was no longer firm. And she was shaking right along with it.
Tenia shrugged, and her shoulders slumped forward. “I never expected to have a mate. Why should I be disappointed? I have lost nothing.” But the fae’s face revealed she didn’t believe a word she was saying.
Myanin could still feel Gerick’s gaze on her. She wanted to look at him, too—to study him, to discover everything she could about him. But she didn’t trust herself not to say something ridiculous or, worse, do something ridiculous. The past three days had been nothing but a wave of emotion after emotion. Guilt, shame, joy, relief, forgiveness, and hope. She’d barely gotten a hold of herself, and now this. A mate. Did you ever think that maybe I had someone better for you? The Great Luna’s words rose unbidden in her mind. Myanin couldn’t stop her head from whipping around to look at him. Gerick. Her mouth dropped open as the reality finally hit her with the force of a full-grown draheim smack in the chest. The air rushed from her lungs at the same time her magic heated to a near painful level.
“Now, you see,” The Great Luna’s voice filled her mind. “The one I created for you and you for him.”
Myanin couldn’t move. She wasn’t even aware of her breathing. When the goddess had mentioned the possibility of a mate the first time, Myanin thought she’d just been making a point, not that she had been saying she actually had a mate for her. All of a sudden, the djinn’s skin felt too tight for her body. She shifted from foot to foot, but her eyes still held his. He knows what I did. He won’t want me. As soon as she thought the words, Gerick took two steps and stood directly in front of her.
He leaned down, so that he was close to her face, only an inch away. He narrowed his yellow eyes on her. His masculine scent enveloped her, and Myanin fought the need to lean into him. “Whatever’s going on in that beautiful head of yours, you set it aside and focus. I am yours, and you are mine. That is all that needs to be said for now. Yeah?”
His words weren’t cruel or sharp. They were matter of fact. Spoken like a general to his warrior. Myanin liked that. He said what needed to be said and nothing more. She nodded. He gave her a small, crooked smile and then stepped out of her way.
Myanin cleared her throat, ignoring the eyes that had all turned to focus on them. “Shall we get down to why we’re here?” she asked Lilly.
Lilly, being quick on the uptake, nodded. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
Myanin moved toward the sitting area along with everyone else, but nobody sat. They all just stood there staring at one another. Myanin nearly laughed. Sitting while others stood could make one of two statements. It could make you appear to be submissive to the rest, or it could make you appear so confident of your own power that sitting among dominant personalities didn’t threaten you in the slightest. Myanin finally shrugged and took a seat. It just so happened that Peri did the same at the exact moment. The high fae gave her a slow nod with narrowed eyes.
Lilly sat next and then Tenia. The two males did not sit, which Myanin didn’t think surprised any of them.
“I’ve filled them in on everything,” Lilly said, motioning to Peri, Lucian, and Gerick. Myanin forced herself not to let her mind linger on the last male too long or the fact that he had all the dirty details of her pathetic past. I am yours, and you are mine. His words filled her head and soothed the fear that kept trying to sneak in. He didn’t seem to judge her, so she was going to stop judging herself for him. Instead, she allowed herself to focus on the fact that she had a mate. One that was hers.
