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“I saw.”

“I thought a Source couldn’t attack their Master,” Axel said. She could see them prowling back towards her from the corner of her eye as she heaved again. They both had darkness wreathing them, their faces as dark as the shadows at their command. She had no idea where Luka was. She couldn’t lift her head enough to look for him.

“They are not supposed to be able to,” Theon replied tightly.

When they were a few feet from her, Axel stopped, but Theon continued towards her cautiously. He slowly crouched before her and tilted her chin up. Shadows swirled tightly around him, as though they were acting as a shield or some kind of armor. “I’m going to heal you, Tessa.”

“Once again, you are the reason I need healing,” she tried to snarl, but there was no bite to her tone.

“I had to get the alcohol out of your system,” he replied. Her confusion at that statement must have been evident on her face because he added, “I sent my magic into your body to burn it all out. That is why it felt like that.”

“You are an asshole,” she added, hardly feeling the jolt the bond gave her for calling him such. “And so are you,” she growled, her gaze lifting to Axel.

“I’m sorry, Tessa,” Axel replied, true remorse ringing in his voice.

“I don’t want your apologies,” she spat. “I don’t want anything from any of you.”

“Tessa—”

“Axel,” Theon warned as he pressed a hand to her cheek. She felt his magic kiss her skin, cooling and tender this time, and the headache that had started throbbing at her temples instantly ceased. “Help her stand.”

Axel came to her side and helped her up, and Theon healed the scrapes on her knees, looking her over carefully for any other sign of injury before he rose to his feet. “Anywhere else?”

Tessa only held his stare for a moment before she shrugged out of Axel’s grip and made her way back to the vehicle. Luka was leaning against the side of it, his arms folded over his chest.

As she drew near, he straightened, his arms dropping to his sides. “Are you—”

“Fuck off, Luka,” she snarled, climbing into the backseat and snapping the door shut behind her. She had her knees to her chest, leaning her head against the window and refusing to acknowledge the others as they climbed into their seats, and Luka started the engine. She heard Theon moving around, and a moment later, a blanket was draped over her.

Now she was stuck.

She was trapped in her thoughts of the assessment and Theon and the bond and Tristyn and everything. There was no alcohol to make her forget. There was no mindless sex to get lost in. Even worse, she could feel Theon on her. She could feel his hands and his lips and his magic. All of it had the bond pulsing through her, urging her to go to him, to seek out his comfort and more.

She was alone. Stuck in her own head.

And that was a dangerous place to be.

28

THEON

Tessa wouldn’t look at any of them, let alone speak to them. He tried to offer her food or water. So did the others. She just stared out the window. He could have entranced her, he supposed. He could have forced her to move closer to him, to rest against his own body rather than the godsdamn window. He could also feel remorse for what he’d done to her, but he didn’t. That information was necessary and remorse wouldn’t change anything anyway. He’d needed to know who she’d called and why. And he certainly didn’t regret having her pinned beneath him. Just the thought of his magic raking along her body had him pressing against his jeans, and gods, he was so sick of fucking his own godsdamn hand. He’d told her he wouldn’t force her, but something was going to have to change and soon.

His magic was as drawn to her as he was. It constantly strained beneath his skin, curious tendrils of darkness trying to break through. Always trying to get to her. When it could mingle with her own power? It would call to her magic as the Source bond called to her soul, and he didn’t know what he was going to do if she still resisted.

He readjusted himself at the thought, glancing at her again. Her eyes were closed, and he couldn’t decide if she was truly sleeping. He had watched her sleep the rest of the night after she’d passed out in their bed. Sipping on a glass of whiskey, he’d pondered what he was going to do with her. This couldn’t keep happening. Maybe it’d get better when the other Marks were in place, but he couldn’t wait that long. This needed to be under control. She needed to be under control.

At least in public.

She feared him to some extent. She knew he was dangerous, knew a monster lurked beneath his skin. He’d tried to keep it from her. He hadn’t wanted her to see it until she was irrevocably devoted to him and him alone. But she was always one extreme or the other. She was either completely submissive or utterly uncontrollable. And while he knew there were other ways to instill obedience, he also refused to become the kind of monster his father was. Then again, maybe the monster he actually was wasn’t any better than his father in the end. He did know that while her wildness drove him mad, he also craved it in a way he couldn’t explain.

He stole another look at her and found the blanket had slipped down her arm. Reaching over, he tugged it back up. She hadn’t so much as sighed in the last hour. She had to be asleep.

“What are you going to do now?” Axel asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Obviously what you are doing isn’t working,” he replied, twisting around to look at him.