Bound (A Faery Story 1)

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