Page 7

Ever

A few of the women beside us at the bench table titter, pushing more food our way. I swear, their plan is to make sure we’re too stuffed to escape. “Tell us the part when you realized she was your fated mate again,” one pleads, sighing dreamily and resting her chin on her fist.

Bell sighs in faux annoyance, thumb stroking languidly over my side, but he doesn’t miss a beat.

“Stole the demon’s powers and broke his leg, grabbed Ever, and used his shadow walking abilities to jump off the cliff.

And when she cursed me out, I looked back and saw her mark emblazoned on my skin and it only confirmed what I’ve known for years; Ever was always meant to be mine. ”

A collective swoon has me rolling my eyes, but I can’t help but smile.

Bell is living for regaling his journey to Mercy Ridge, finding me, and returning home mated and victorious.

It’d be annoying if his face didn’t light up every time he talks about how proud he is to wear my mark, and how thrilled he is that he doesn’t have to hide me from them anymore.

But I see the shadow in his eyes every time he mentions Arson, Ledger, and Myles in his stories. How he chooses his words carefully to correct the assumption that we were kidnapped or at the mercy of other mysts, before escaping.

Honestly, I’m surprised. Bellamy hated the guys when he first met them. Yet he’s done nothing but paint them in a good light when he shares his stories to his family and friends.

“They really didn’t hurt you?” one girl asks me, brow furrowed in confusion. “Even though they tricked you into bonding with them? They didn’t force you to cement the bonds?”

My stomach flips. “No, definitely not. They’d sooner cut off their own hands than hurt me.

And they didn’t trick me into anything.” She doesn’t look convinced, so I press, “Ledger even jumped in front of another myst to protect Bell, and honestly, he was kind of a dick to them at first. They’ve got to be losing their minds that we’re missing. ”

She purses her lips, unconvinced. “They let the two of you walk off alone in a town riddled with mysts. That doesn’t sound like they cared about your safety at all.”

“I was overwhelmed. I wanted a moment alone,” I defend.

She gives me a sympathetic look. “You’re right, the fact that they let you two go off alone shows they care about what you want.

But they clearly didn’t care enough about your safety ; that’s a good mate’s number one priority.

You’re a mimic, Ever. Your mates should protect you over all else, but they failed you.

” Tucking a lock of her pale pink hair behind her ear, she chirps, “Don’t worry, though!

There are plenty of single people here that would kill to be a part of your bond group.

And they understand the responsibility that protecting a mimic entails better than anyone. ”

I’m torn between wanting to defend them, storm off, and punch her in the tit.

She doesn’t have a damn clue what my relationship with the guys is like. Hell, what the outside world is like beyond stories. Who is she to say the guys failed? My safety isn’t even their responsibility; it’s mine .

Just as I open my mouth to tell her off, Bellamy swivels his fingers and a stream of water crashes into her face, leaving her sputtering indignantly. “Oops,” he deadpans.

“Oops?” she snaps, angrily swiping water off her face as her cheeks turn pinker than her hair. “Seriously, Bellamy? You aren't even going to apologize !?”

My mate shrugs his shoulder, languidly stroking his thumb along my rib cage.

“Why would I apologize? I'm not sorry for anything other than not stepping in sooner. Don’t you see how insulting your rant was? I’m not sure what your end goal was by talking shit about our bondmates, but maybe this’ll remind you to take a second and think before you spout off in the future. ”

She huffs, shooting him with a furious glare, but then her temper fizzles out and she gives me a remorseful, sheepish look.

“He… has a point. I shouldn't have phrased it like that.

I really did mean well, and I still stand by what I said; it doesn't sound like they were concerned enough about your safety.

But I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions.

I'm sorry. Everyone the retrieval team brings here are rescued from bad situations and I'm pre-mad on their behalf and get too fired up and speak without thinking sometimes.”

Wringing out her hair over her shoulder, she sighs. “I made a really shitty first impression, I know, but I swear, I’m not usually a bitch. Just angry about what people have suffered and extra defensive of the newbies. Can we… start over, maybe?”

My annoyance subsides, heart clenching. Isn’t that really all we can hope for from people? That they admit when they fuck up and try to do better in the future?

“Yeah.” I swallow, stretching out a hand in offering. “I think I’d like that.”

She shakes it, dipping her head in acknowledgement. “You’re one of us now, Ever, and we take care of our own… because we can’t trust anyone else to. If you need something, let me know and I’ll do what I can to help, or point you in the direction of someone that can. Okay?”

“Thank you.” I won’t take her up on it since I’m abandoning ship ASAP, but I appreciate the sentiment if nothing else.

The blue glow surrounding us suddenly turns red, pulsing like a living heartbeat.

For one weighted moment, nobody so much as breathes.

In the next, people snap out of their shock and panic, sprinting off with shouts and leaving me completely lost and confused.

I didn’t grow up with fire drills in these tunnels; I don’t have a damn clue where the emergency exit is.

Kind of a big design flaw that it’s a silent alarm, though. If someone’s sleeping when they go off, they’re doomed.

Prepared to follow the masses as a safe default, I squirm off of Bellamy’s lap, but he has a different idea.

Clasping my hand tightly in his and tucking me behind him, he shoulders our way through the crowd, clearing us a path and shielding me from getting jostled around.

As soon as we’re not at risk of being trampled, he leads us in the opposite direction as everyone that’s fleeing.

“What’s going on?” I shout over the chaotic din, and he squeezes my hand in reassurance.

“Someone breached the wards.”

I bite my lip, stuffing down that little flutter of hope that the guys found us already. Because how would that even be possible? It’s more likely that someone else followed us here.

My stomach flips with dread as I remember…

Seraphina’s mates never found out who was trying to break the wards to get into Mercy Ridge.

They could have followed the men that grabbed me and Bell right to the mimic’s doorstep.

No matter how good their barrier was, I doubt it was on the same level as the one Myles created.

My dread and self-loathing grow with every step as Bellamy leads us through the twists and turns in the endless tunnels without slowing, barking at people to get down to the bunks.

“Bell, what if… what if it isn’t them?”

His lips thin, slowing a bit. “Who else would it be?”

I blurt out my worries, and he comes to a dead halt, looking like he’s about to be sick. “Why the hell didn't any of you tell me that someone was attacking the city while we were there?!”

I flinch, because… fair . “Honestly, I kind of forgot about it with everything else going on. Myles strengthened the barrier as soon as we found out, so it was sort of a moot point after that.”

He curses, swiping a hand down his face. “Shit, if that’s the case, I need to get you out of here.”

I dig my heels in as he tries to tug me back the way we came.

“Hold on, it might be the guys. I’m just saying we need to be prepared in case it isn’t so we don’t waltz right into a trap.

” Taking a deep breath, I point out, “You went through all the effort to save these people, right? You can’t just let them die if we can do something to stop it. ”

Steel grey eyes hold mine captive. “I can and I will if it means you’re safe. You’re my priority, Ever. Your safety comes first. Always.”

My stomach flips. “And if it is the guys storming the castle, are you going to forgive them for killing your family over a misunderstanding?”

Bellamy doesn’t even hesitate. “If they aren’t willing to kill someone to get you back, they don’t deserve you.”

Not sure how to process that deranged statement, I opt for ignoring it entirely.

“Then we figure out what’s happening together.” I tug my necklace out from under my shirt with a victorious grin. “They may have taken my knife when they kidnapped us, but I’ve still got this.”

Confusion morphs into recognition as I activate the pendant and disappear in front of his eyes.

While cloaked, my scent and sounds are masked, because my mate is a fucking genius.

I was saving it as a failsafe to sneak us out of here if push came to shove, but even if I wind up showing the ace up my sleeve, it’s worth the risk to figure out what’s happening above ground without being a liability and holding Bell back.

“I thought you had borrowed someone’s power that first day,” he breathes, face breaking into a broad grin. “Myles?”

When I remember he can’t hear my response, I tap his arm as confirmation.

Grabbing my hand, Bell guides me into a narrow fissure easily missed in the rocky wall that eventually leads to an ancient, moss-covered cement slide.

Carefully lifting me over the few inches of bottomless void between us and the lip of the slide, he climbs behind me, catching me every time my foot slips until we reach a metal grate.

The sounds of fighting grow louder as he tucks my hand into his belt to ensure I don’t fall without him knowing, his muscles straining as he shoves it open a crack, sliding it out of the way and letting the sounds of fighting flood in full blast.