Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Talon was right, we’d have to kill her. There would be no mistaking that, but it was all about picking the right moment.
I scrubbed and scrubbed until I finally felt clean of any Night Thistle or iron despite having rid myself of those things the minute Talon saved me.
I stepped out of the shower, towel-drying my oversensitive skin, but I froze when I caught sight of myself in the mirror.
My heart stopped.
I glanced down at my thigh, just inside of it, and gaped at the black ink that decorated the spot that Talon loved to touch.
A mark.
His mark branded my skin.
Talon’s mating mark.
Talon was my mate.
Holy shit, Talon was my fucking mate.
My parents had paraded me in front of hundreds of vampire prospects, allowed them to touch me in the hopes that their mark would appear on my skin, but no marks ever appeared.
I thought Fate had deemed me un-matable. Unworthy. Because only Fate would decide who your mate was, if you got one at all. Only Fate allowed your mate’s mark—one they were born with—to appear branded on your skin after a physical touch and an internal connection.
I thought I’d been meant to walk this world alone. I’d made peace with that, especially because I never wanted to match up with any of the vile vampires my parents hoped for.
But now…
I checked and rechecked the mark, unable to deny what decorated my skin. What branded my heart. That connection I felt? That white light that felt like it seared between the two of us? It was this. It was fate.
My heart soared at the thought, at how much sense it made and how little it made too.
Then my heart plummeted into my stomach and tears gathered in my eyes.
Why would fate pair him with me?
Why would fate chain him to somebody riddled with darkness and baggage? He was a thousand-year-old hunter, a powerful Viking of a male vampire who deserved a queen, someone who could elevate him. Not someone who would tie him down.
I shook my head, forcing my own toxic mother's thoughts out of my brain.
No. I was the best match for him. That's why fate tied us together. Because I could give him what he needed, which was fire and passion and support and comfort.
But despite knowing this, a wave of terror crashed over me. My entire existence, I’d never felt fear like I did in this moment. Because before him, if I died, I died. Before him, I had nothing to lose.
And I knew if I walked out there right now and showed him this mark, everything would change. He would put me above the mission. He would have to give in to the demands of his instincts and take me off this island for my own safety.
And we couldn't afford that. There was no way in hell I would ever put him in that painful of a position where he had to choose between me or his dedication to orders.
So, I slipped on a silk nightgown that was long enough to cover up my thigh and ensured that all the lights were off when I walked out and joined him in bed. I knew I wouldn't be able to hide it for long. But I hoped I'd be able to hide it long enough for us to finish what we’d started.
CHAPTER 15
Talon
I'd made sure I kept the check-in call with Zachariah as quick as possible, guilt still clinging to my insides at the memory of what happened yesterday when I left her to do the same thing. I had to call him quicker than usual, to let him know at the elevation of violence her mother was exhibiting.
The visual image of finding Cassandra in that fucking closet, iron digging into her flesh so much she was drenched in blood, will never leave me.
I wanted to kill every single living creature in the estate, but she’d grounded me. Reminded me of the mission we both agreed to. The fact that she put that above her own need for vengeance made something crack open inside of me. Something intense and world-shattering.
Something I knew we needed to talk about, but I couldn't find the words or the courage to do so.
I hurried back in my panther form, pushing my body to the limit to get back faster. Even though I knew from this evening's repast that Cassandra’s mother considered the debt to the Wrights paid, and had the audacity to laugh about the situation, it didn't make being separated from her any easier. And my hackles rose the second I stepped back into the estate, smelling a new scent that I hadn't smelled before.
I prowled the estate, realizing the new smell was dangerously close to Cassandra’s, and I upped my pace to get to her. The idea of another pompous aristocratic male heir trying to claim her as his had my vision flickering from thermal even though I was in shifted form.