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“Okay, what was your trick? I know you had to shut your eyes and imagine something else to get the job done.”

“Bet you had to be drunk in order to get it up,” Titus jokes. “I would’ve had to be drugged. Wolf’s bane probably wouldn’t be strong enough to get me to fuck that vamp.”

My wolf snarls in my head. He’s not a fan of this line of jokes.

“Chill out,”I tell him.“They’re only joking.”

“Not about my mate,”he grits out. “Kill them all.”

“Don’t take this seriously. You know how they feel about vampires.”

“You saw him that night,” Zyion says, grabbing another log. “He was dancing with her like he was out of his mind. He was under a spell. That’s the only way he mated with her.”

He was right, but something about him pointing that out bothered me.

“Look, Chayton and I both know the moon goddess approved this union for a reason. I’m just hanging on long enough to figure out why.”

“What are you going to do when the parasite tries to sleep with you again?” Hans asked with his nose scrunched up.

The idea of Michaela asking me to come to her bed has me hardening so fast I have to glance down to make sure my print isn’t obvious. Turning slightly so that they don’t notice, I run a hand down my face. They didn’t need to know how hard it’d be for me to turn her down. They don’t have to know that no matter how hard I try, I can’t get the way her skin had glowed under the moonlight out of my head.

I chuckle, trying to play off the situation. “Hopefully she will drug me again, so I don’t know what’s happening.”

The guys all laugh. The joke sits heavy on my shoulders, but I ignore the feeling. My wolf is silent in my head, letting me know he’s not happy.

Then, the scent of vanilla floats through the air. I turn around to find Michaela standing in the tree line. She’s looking at me, but her expression is neutral. The same neutral she always wears, like a shield. I open the link between us and a wave of sadness hits me so hard tears nearly pool in my eyes. The link slams shut, cutting me off from the emotion. She turns and walks back through the trees.

“Do you think she heard us?” Zyion asks. I guess he noticed her too.

I glance at him and then back at that tree line.

“No, she couldn’t have. She was too far away.” Even though I give that reply, the sadness I felt plays back in my head. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a heavy feeling of melancholy before. It wasn’t just the dejected feeling that I felt, underneath it was a current of loneliness. Sorrow and forlorn, that’s what lies beneath her neutral face.

The others walk away, going back to their work. Zyion stays behind me. Once we are completely alone, he turns to me.

“Help me out here,” he says. “I know there is a reason for all this. What the hell, man?”

“I’m just as confused as you are. Something came over me that night. When I woke up, I realized I was mated to her. Not only mated, but blessed by the goddess.”

“Shit,” Zyion says. “And Chayton is making you stay in this?”

I nod. “But it might not be a bad idea.” I tell him.

His gaze widens. “How do you figure?”

“Well, being her mate gives me direct access to her around the clock. Not just her whereabouts, but also her mind.”

Zyion leans back. “You can see what’s in her head.”

“Yeah. Well, not fully. She has a wall inside her mind that’s so solid I can’t get anywhere near it without her shoving me out. But at some point, she will lower her guard and I’ll be able to see what the hell she’s hiding.”

Sorrow and forlorn.

“Maybe that’s why the goddess blessed your union,” Zyion says excitedly, like he cracked the code. “She gave you unlimited access to the leech so you can discover the truth.”

Although, I know this is exactly what I basically pointed out, something is telling me this isn’t why the goddess blessed this union.

Sorrow and forlorn.