Why was it, that I was suddenly getting the feeling that I was the only one incapable of protecting my own mate?
Mason could lick her wounds — wolf bastard.
Ethan could infuse her blood.
And I could screw her into oblivion.
Wow, good one, Alex. So useful.
As if reading my tumultuous thoughts, Cassius placed a hand on her temple and said, “I’ll take care of that.”
His statement hung in the air, thickening the tension to a choking degree while I watched her visibly relax and then stare up at me with fear-stricken eyes.
“The man at the compound,” she whispered in a small voice. “He—he did something—”
There was no time to
prepare her.
I would have done anything in my power to protect her.
But that was just it, wasn’t it? She had the most important part of a siren. My body.
I had nothing else to offer her.
I hadn’t been given the same gifts as everyone else.
And the gravity of the situation killed me.
Would she always need someone like Mason watching over her? Since I refused to tap into the rest of my power?
If he was the better mate, then what the hell was I doing?
You cannot break the bond, Cassius mind-whispered into my brain like the annoying angel he was.
I gulped and gave a stiff nod in his direction.
Once mated — breaking the bond had the potential to kill one or both partners.
My death I could handle. Hers?
We all have our parts, Cassius mind-whispered again in his creepy, holier-than-though voice.
I shoved his presence out of my brain and focused in on Hope. Color was returning to her face, but the tattoo grew. It wrapped its black tendrils up her arm, slowly creeping across her skin until it slid around her neck like a necklace fit for a queen. The symbol of a crow would appear between her breasts. I’d seen it before, and then a smaller version would kiss the back of her neck.
She was marked.
Her arms were shaking as she scratched at the black inky movements of the tattoo.
“Don’t.” I placed my hand on hers, enjoying the buzz that still hummed beneath the surface of her skin. “Touching it will only make it worse.”
Tears streamed down her cheek. “Worse? How the heck can this get any worse!” She shook her arm as her breathing turned ragged, her heart rate soared, fluttering like a million butterflies trying to break out of her body, I could feel her every fear, and I blamed myself for them.
I closed my eyes and focused on her breathing and inhaled.
She followed.
Again. I whispered in her mind.