Page 23 of Bonding Beasts (Bonding: The Ultimate Guide #3)

Ben

I hear her whispered apology before Mom takes over for me. I guess I can pat myself on the back for bringing Bees to Mom’s house instead of our own.

Pardon me for not being well-versed in treating a broken bond. Reinforcements were absolutely necessary. I'll tear the house apart if I listen to her cry for much longer.

I listen as Mom bullies her into getting in the shower and pull on a pair of combat boots, pausing briefly as she offers to take my mate’s clothes off for her. What the fuck, Mom?

But she soon reappears in the doorway with a smug smirk, and the door slams shut behind her.

Today, she has shifted into a matron’s figure, shorter than me, with blond hair curled and pinned back in the old 50s look that I love.

Her figure is more rounded in the belly and chest than I’m used to and covered in a frilly apron, a poofed skirt barely showing underneath.

A part of me understands that this is not her actual form.

I’ve never seen it and probably never will, but I take comfort in her presence.

“Going somewhere, pet?” she asks in a sweet motherly voice.

“She wants her bonded back,” I reply and rub a hand over my face .

I can’t bring him back here. Mom would have a field day with whatever trauma the ancient has stored inside. Maybe I can just check in and come back with good news?

“How is it that she’s bonded to someone other than you again?” Her smirk edges into a complete smile. All the comfort in her image wavers momentarily as the malice in it strikes me.

“I’m not rushing, Mother,” I sigh in exasperation. Why haven’t I eaten her again? Oh yeah, I love her.

“Someone else is rushing. And more will come, you know that,” she warns, wagging a finger at me.

I wonder if that’s really the gesture she used or if this is part of her illusion.

“I don’t care. Honestly, the more people I can get to guard her, the better. My mate is a trouble magnet. It isn’t like she has a limit on how many husbands she can have.”

“You are forgetting that she was raised as a Human , Benji. They are habitually monogamous.”

“Ridiculous,” I shake my head.

“Yes but try to see it from her point of view. She has a single bond already. Who’s to say she will not simply end her search there?”

My stomach sinks as her words sucker punch me right in the gut.

“You should find this person and ensure they stay dead, pet. I understand that a new bond can help balance the madness of losing another,” she tempts me with a sweet smile.

I roll my eyes, “He’s immortal, Mother. That would be a never-ending uphill climb.”

“An immortal, you say?” She straightens and clasps her hands excitedly. “Perhaps the TGT agent she was housed with? The gunslinger?”

“The very same. As it happens, he’s also the assassin you were looking for. I will say this for Bees, and I hope you take it seriously. He is hers . No touching, no manipulating.”

“Of course,” she gasps in dismay, placing a hand over her chest.

“Don’t hurt yourself by faking it, Mom.” I say dryly.

“Oh posh,” she waves her hand dismissively with a frown. “Even you can admit that cracking open the mystery of him would be intoxicating.”

“I’ll be right back. Can you make sure she’s ok? Feed her? Make her sleep in the nest. My scent will comfort her and -”

“Just go, pet, you’ve become nauseating,” she deadpans and looks around my floor with a curled lip. “I thought I trained those hopeless romantic notions out of you. When was the last time a maid cleaned in here?”

Aaaand I’m out.

Quickly opening a dimensional portal, I step up and directly out onto the front lawn of the TGT house.

Or what’s left of it.

The portal took me to the fence line, thank the Old Ones. Otherwise, I would be in a crater flailing around.

What happened after I left? Oh man, how long would it take an Immortal to come back from becoming ash?

My car .

I don’t bother to contain the baying as rage consumes me.

I shift and begin searching for it in the rubble. I scent it farther down, where the fires still burn, a combination of noxious mage fire with a dash of dragon’s flame. One will make the flames stick like glue, and the other will add to the longevity of the blaze .

If the protect spell worked as promised, the concussive force of the blast won’t have affected it at all. But the combination in this spell is rare and unstable, not something you generally plan for with vehicle insurance.

There it is. Contained in its bubble of protection underneath shards of glass, stone, and ash.

It’s settled into the basement level of the manor, wedged there by the protective shield.

Whoever set this blast was thorough. It would have set off all the hexes hiding inside and dissipated them simultaneously.

Minus the cost of a veritable fortress of a house.

Not my problem.

It pains me to walk away from my first vehicle, but I force myself to do it. I could raise it from its trap down there, but I’m not willing to risk damaging it with more rough handling. I’ll leave that to the experts.

Void help me if Bees ever finds out I looked for my car before I tried to find her missing bonded.

Since I’m already down here, I might as well look more thoroughly for his carcass.

After thirty minutes of digging, scenting old benign smells, and sneezing, I give up.

He’ll rise from ashes. His kind can do that as well as mine can. My level of concern here is zero. But I can’t go back to Bees like this without a lot of explanation. What to do?

I could head to our place and clean up, figure out a good story to tell her to ease her mind and head back to Mom’s.

Plan set; I shift back into a man’s form before opening a path to the house.

I step through and come to a halt.

Kimi, King, and Mal blink at my sudden appearance from the dining room table.

Kimi is still in the cage I left him in, minus the shackles, balanced precariously on the arms of a chair .

Mal and King are tied to the chairs pulled away from the table with white cloth. They both have the same fabric pressed across their lips like duct tape. Bonding spells and mute spells.

What now?

They all stare back at me curiously as I take in the scene. Before I can open my mouth, I feel a presence at my back, and the cold feel of a knife presses to my throat.

The action is a surprise. Someone knows I have a physical form underneath the black mist. How?

“Bring her to me,” the immortal’s control is slipping badly if his accent is that apparent.

“No,” I reply, trying hard not to roll my eyes.

Good news, Bees, they all made it out.

The blade presses hard enough to bring up blood and grave dirt.

“Cutting my head off won’t net you results,” my voice is a mocking croon. I wonder if he can hear me without the added effort?

I stare at the three figures before me as he debates with himself. The terror my voice causes is still affecting them at least. Mitri hasn’t faltered.

“Where is she?” The cold monotone doesn’t change, but the knife pulls back a miniscule amount.

“Safe.”

The knife is taken away, and he grabs my hair in his fist, tilting my head back so I can roll my eyes to see him in my peripherals.

How did he know I had hair? How did he know where my throat was? I should be nothing but mist with eyes to him.

He bonded to Bees. She can see my true form. Does that mean he saw me ? She made it possible by connecting with him. That’s amazing!

I can’t celebrate about it yet .

Mitri looks a little blank. Like an evil wax figure with a frozen expression of nothing. His eyes more than make up for it, though. He is absolutely enraged.

“She lives again?”

My eyebrows rise in surprise. “Yeah.”

“I cannot feel her,” his eyes narrow on me.

I let the eye roll happen this time. “I’m not lying.”

“Where is she?”

“Safe.”

“Good doggo,” Kimi’s voice chimes in from in front of me, but his tone is off in a deadened way.

His comment draws Mitri’s attention, and I wait patiently while he stares.

I’ve completed the mission, achievement unlocked ‘Found Mitri’, so I can take my time. Hopefully, Mom will have Bees back to herself by the time I get back. However, a tiny matter must be dealt with before I leave, so I’m stuck waiting.

Mitri’s attention returns to me, and I huff at the lack of expression. It must be challenging to bottle yourself up like that, and I admire the restraint, but this is a ridiculous waste of time. No more waiting.

“Why are they here?” I gesture towards the table as I ask.

He looks over towards them and then back to me without answering.

“Fine.” I jerk my head down, losing a fist full of hair, I’m sure. I can always regrow it.

I walk away from them all, heading towards the room I share with Bees. If I can’t bring her back here, I need to pack a few of her things.

“Halt,” his cold voice intones from behind me.

I ignore him and keep walking. I need to shower first. I can’t get soot all over her things, what little she has .

I hear the hammer cock back a split second before a bullet pierces through my shoulder, exiting on the other side with a spray of blood and dust.

I pause with a sigh, watching the debris float for a second before reforming and attaching itself back to me. I turn my head to look at him over my shoulder.

“Use your words, immortal.”

His eyes narrow to green slits, the gun still raised, tracking my minimal movements. He still refuses to speak.

“Your choice,” I shrug and begin walking again.

The following shots take out both of my knees. Before I can do more than wobble on my feet, my essence has reattached. I turn slowly to face him with a bland expression.

Both guns are out now, and his head is tilted to the side. He can’t really see me; he’s guessing at the location of my physical form. I can tell by the way his eyes are darting. Strange that he’s spot on with his aim. The weapons don’t smell like artifacts.