their sister Bronwyn down, and she would sit with her ladies while
they swam. Cian would splash their sister and tease her mercilessly,
but Beck wasn’t able to join their fun. He was expected to act the king
always .
“Eyes are always on you, son,” his father would say. “They
expect Cian to act the fool, but you must be the warrior king every
minute of your life.”
What would his father have thought of his actions this day?
Would his father understand that life had dealt him a horrible set of
cards and he’d played them the only way that made sense? Or would
he turn away in shame? Beck rather thought it might be the latter.
62
Sophie Oak
All of his life he had been trained to ruthlessly hide the beast that
lived inside him. His own mother had always told him that symbiotic
twins were considered powerful, but everyone knew they were
difficult to raise. The warrior half required balance to stop his violent
nature from running wild. The intellectual half needed grounding or
he spent his life in daydreams. It was only through bonding with a
proper mate that the two halves could truly live balanced lives.
The bonding was a sacred act. It was a gift from the bondmate to
her husbands. It was to be treasured and revered.
He had forced it on her when she didn’t even understand what she
was accepting.
Finally his lungs burned, and he allowed himself to float toward
the light. He broke the surface, taking a deep breath.
“I was wondering if you were going to put in an appearance or if
you would allow the kelpies to take you.” Dante sat against a large
tree, his long legs spread out in front of him. He had his tablet out and
was playing with it. Beck knew Dante was very attached to his