“I love how you call him by his Hawaiian name.”
“That fucker’s been at this a long time.” He nuzzles against my breast, inhaling my scent and kissing me. Chills skitter across my skin at his possessive actions. “It’s why I know we’re going to beat him.”
Holding his face, I find the glowing green eyes I love. “Why does that make you know we’ll beat him? If anything, it makes me feel even more doomed. He has so much more experience than us.”
He pushes up to sit beside me, pulling me close “It’s a game to him, Mercy. He doesn’t want you. He wants the idea of you. I’m only guessing, but I’d say to an immortal like Kanaloa, or Hayden if that’s what he’s called here, life must be incredibly boring. Humans, shifters, we’re all toys to him. We’re playthings to fill the expanse of eternity.”
Leaning back, I look deep into his eyes. “You’re so intelligent.”
“Is that bad?”
“Not at all. Only I fell for your body. Now you’re pulling out this brain on me. Give a girl a break.”
That earns me a rare Koa laugh, and it’s not long before we’re back to making love. Still, he lets me return to the mansion to fetch my things and say goodbye to Penny. He’s right about Phoebe, though. She’ll want to stay where she’s familiar.
My aunt scampers down the steps when she hears me enter, and for the first time in a while, I see the old lynx in her movements.
“Mercy! Oh, Mercy, I’ve been so worried about you.” She runs straight to me and pulls me in her arms. “Where have you been?”
“I’ve been with Koa! It’s okay.”
“Is he holding you prisoner?” Her eyes are round, and I shake my head.
“He’s not the jailer I’m worried about.” Studying her face, I realize she’s always known. “I told him about Hayden. About what’s happening next week.”
Her lip pulls between her teeth. “Dylan told you?”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” It aches in my chest that everyone kept me in the dark. I feel like I can’t trust any of them now.
“I wanted to! Dylan said I shouldn’t. She said we should try and see if you would love him. Your aunt Cora did.”
That has my attention. “She did? I don’t know a Cora — tell me about her!”
“She was the first one to be taken… It was all so long ago. Still, when Cora’s father tried to get her back, she didn’t want to return. She would come up for visits, but she always went back to him.”
Visits? My brow lines, and I think about this. Is it possible one would actually want to stay with Hayden? I think about how he conducts himself. He isn’t horrible. I suppose if I weren’t in love with Koa…
“Hayden is refined, but I don’t want to live in the underworld. I want to live in the sun by the ocean. I want to leave the snow and woods behind and see the waves, live in the light.”
Penny’s chin drops and she does a sad little nod. “It will be harder for you, then.”
A flash of fear trembles in my chest. Koa told me not to give up. He said he would save me. I have to believe him.
“Do you know how to reach Hayden? I really need to talk to him.”
“Oh, no! You mustn’t do that!” Her head shakes fast, and her eyes are wide with panic. “Don’t invite him here. He might decide to move up the timeline.”
Another shimmer of terror clutches my insides. “He can’t do that… can he?”
“He can do whatever he wants. Since you turned twenty-one, he’s had the right to take you at any moment.”
My chest is winding so tight, I’m afraid I’ll vomit. “But Dylan negotiated…”
“Dylan has no control over him. He agreed to her plans only to see if you might find him interesting. Now that he knows about the panther, all bets are off.”
“He knows about Koa?”
“He was furious about it, too. You were at the gym the day he discovered you’d been sleeping with him.”