Page 117 of Broken Souls

I grin. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” He pauses, then asks, “But seriously. Are we killing –”

“No. And don’t hit either of them for it either.” Khalid would kill him either way. “I can take care of my own shit.”

He frowns, then sighs. Then eventually promises after I wheedle him some more.

“So do you think you two can work past this then? Or do you want to run before the wedding tomorrow?”

I sigh as I flop down onto the bed beside him. As mad as I am at Varius right now, though, I’m not even tempted. I have too much tying me here. Lou is marrying in. He’s the father of my baby. And we’re bonded. If we don’t keep exchanging blood until the ritual is finished, it’ll kill me.

“I don’t know if I can ever forgive him,” I say truthfully, “but I can’t leave him either.”

“Our network –”

I shake my head. Our network is for hiding the children we pretend to assassinate. Those people aren’t being looked for. If there is one truth in this world, it is that Varius will tear this world apart looking for me.

And there is one other reason I won’t take Dayne’s offer.

“I still love the damn fool.”

Dayne looks at me softly. “Okay then. But if you ever change your mind, I’ll always have a bag packed.”

I grin as I turn on my side to look at him. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

I stick my tongue out at him.

Then I sigh.

I’m going to have to tell him about the werewolf attack. We share everything, and it’ll be good to get the nightmares out of my head. Reaching over to him, I hold his hand as I go into all the gritty details about what Antonio did to me, including his promise to come back.

“Fuck,” Dayne says when I finish. “How are you?” He immediately shakes his head. “Dumb question. Shit, Micha. I’m sorry you went through that alone. If I’d still had the bond –”

“You’d be dead,” I cut in. “Antonio left me alive to fuck with Varius. He would’ve had no reason to keep you alive.”

“Still...” His gaze hardens. “I’m going to ask him to let me tattoo you again. If he wants to torture me to make sure I won’t break –”

“No,” I cut in, my heart hammering in my throat at the idea of Varius torturing my best friend. My hands tighten into fists. I remember the feel of that screw. He did that to me, someone he loved. What would he do to someone he’s jealous of? Dayne might be gay, but Varius doesn’t care. My best friend has a part of me he does not, and that is enough of make him feral.

“Micha –”

“No,” I say sharply. “I don’t want you feeling me if–”When,my brain corrects, remembering the wolf’s promise to me. I tremble. “IfAntonio gets to me again.”

“That’s exactly why –”

“You won’t be able to stop him, Dayne,” I say softly, my heart in my throat. As much as I want to protect him from Varius’ jealousy, I also want to protect him from that. If he feels me die, he will kill himself trying to avenge me, and all I want is for him to be happy. “So tell me about you and Quinton,” I say with a false cheerfulness.

He stares at me for a moment, not wanting to change the subject. Then he sighs. “There’s nothing to tell,” he says.

“No? So you two haven’t fucked yet?”

His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t say no…

I laugh. I’m just about to tease him, but then I sit bolt upright as I remember what Quinton said when he first came in. He said it so jokingly though, that it didn’t really register until now. “Wait, did he really save you?”

He looks utterly annoyed. “Don’t tell him, but yeah. I got trapped between three shooters.”