Page 34 of Love the Way You Lion (Rise of the Resistance #3)

The Artist and The Blade Make A Promise

RAFE

B lade and I are watching the stars in the backyard. She’s been quiet, but I understand that. We’ve been suffering through the vast waves of emotion being siphoned off to us by our mates as they battle over the coyote’s experiment in emotional manipulation.

It’s put a big ass crimp in my day and I’m pissed as hell about it.

Sari visited me earlier, and while in rare form, she wasn’t behaving as badly as she did with Taurus.

I mistakenly thought everything was on an even keel.

Whatever quests she was doing kept her busy, and she left me alone.

I thought maybe things would settle down.

It’s the only bloody reason I even let her in.

I should have known better.

“She told Taurus she had something that Wilde had meant to give you before the accident. She called it a John Thomas something or other,” she says .

I pinch the bridge of my nose. For Christ’s sake, this is the same shit she pulled with Taurus. Sari tried to use Wilde as a weapon to divide them. Taurus didn’t know the terminology well enough to catch what the coyote was saying. She was also trying to drive a wedge between Blade and me.

“I’ll bet she did. She didn’t mention it to me on her brief visit.

My guess is that she didn’t realize that neither of you knows what she means,” I growl, looking out into the sky.

Frustration is zinging over my skin because I know this is a lie.

Sari made this whole thing up to discredit us with our mates. “She means a ring for?—”

“Oh!” She drops her head, looking defeated again.

I lift her chin, looking into her eyes. “It’s a flat-out lie, pet. He wasn’t ever going to do that and had mentioned nothing like it. She’s trying to cause a rift between us.”

She shrugs, looking down, and fumbles in her pocket, muttering, “I guess that makes this whole thing foolish.” She’s flipping something around in her fingers, still looking forlorn. “It’s not a cock ring.”

I blink. “I’d say not because regardless of my opinion of myself, it’d be a wee bit undersized, I’m sure.”

She blushes and hides behind her hair, muttering again. “I’ll say.”

I grin a little, feeling lighter. She keeps playing with the thing and I get curious. “Are you going to put whatever it is on me?” I raise a brow, trying to figure out what is making her so shy.

“It’s not for you.” She whispers, so much so I wouldn’t be able to hear her if I didn’t have enhanced senses. “See, Damien’s been working with metals and he made this.” She shoves her free hand in her pocket and holds up something that resembles a flattened metal circle .

“Oh.” I tilt my head, surprised by the turn of this conversation, given the anger and resentment caused by the coyote today.

It’s driving our mates to have a hell of a row that was splitting our heads open a few moments ago.

This is a serious commitment and one I’ve only gotten asked once before.

I don’t think it’s meant the same way Alistair meant it; I think it’s more.

I did not expect this after the blow-up earlier.

She whispers, “It’s not done. It needs something.”

I take the metal from her hand, looking at it. “What does it need?”

“A lock of your hair,” she says. The words tumble out so fast that I don’t even think she paused between them. Her face is bright red beneath all the hair she’s hiding behind; I know it. “If you can’t, I understand. I don’t have to have it.”

Eyeing her thigh, I point. “Cut it with Precious. I don’t have sharp pointies like the cat. At least, none that I’ve seen yet.”

“Huh?” She blinks, looking dumbfounded.

“The hair, love. It will not fall on its own, right?”

Stuttering, she nods. “O—okay.” Plucking Precious out of her sheath, Blade looks for a place in the back that won’t be too noticeable.

I shake my head. “Wait a moment.” I look down at the middle finger of my left hand and remove the band.

It was a gift of love—not intended for any nuptials—but as it symbolizes a commitment, I couldn’t bring myself to take it off yet.

I thought it healed until now, but I move it to my right index finger and look up at her. “Now, I’m ready.”

She looks confused and I sigh, not wanting to go into detail about something that is going to upset her. “I want—I want to put this on you. I want it to mean something. For that to happen, I have to make a conscious decision about who I am committed to. That person is you,” I mumble.

Making an owlish face, she looks as if she wants to ask, but decides not to.

She holds up the dagger, spinning it a little.

Winking, she shears the lock without me even blinking an eye and picks it up.

“Lay it across the ring in your hand and then say something. Give me a minute to remember what Damien said.”

“I hope to hell it isn’t ‘hunk of burning clone’.”

She bursts out laughing. “You know about that? Oh, the stories I could tell about the fights at the house between Damien and Taurus over that incident.” Giggling, she blinks. “Now I remember! You say ‘chosen’.”

I chuckle. “That git fancies himself a funny rotter, eh? My girl did clone hand puppet theater for us one night about those two. She loves a good sock puppet clone show.” Seeing her smile as she imagines it, I look at the flat thing again.

“I lay it here like this with the hair on it and say the word?”

She looks unsure. “I’m not sure. It’s muse magick. They’re supposed to—but that might not work now that it’s only—I’m not sure.”

Looking confused, I nod. “Okay. Let’s try it, yeah?”

“WAIT!” she yells, looking panicked. “Damn it.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out another piece of metal.

“I might not have mentioned everything. I didn’t want to ask you to wear this because you’re not—but you can.

No meaning other than your affection for me.

They’re a matched set. They’re supposed to work in tandem. ”

Pursing my lips, I ask, “Was it because of what I can’t give you?

If you don’t want to, I’ll understand.” I feel doubt on my face, warring with what I want and what is right.

I know how the cat feels now, worried that the ties that bind from the past have screwed you out of happiness now.

I know she’s been hiding how much she’s hurting that the bird has never reciprocated the ring she gave him because she knows it’s her own fault.

She won’t put herself on the line and ask.

I thought it was stupid, given how bonkers he was for her.

Now I know why she won’t. It’s because asking that question made my heart shrivel in my chest for a moment.

I suppose it’s a constant open wound on hers.

Knowing all the things she’s carrying, I hope to hell no one ever has to go searching around inside her to heal anything.

Demons lurk there, and I don’t mean the sexy ones we clones have.

I mean, she stores true black holes to hell inside labeled drawers just waiting to get free.

I look over at my mate again, troubled by her silence as I ponder.

Finally, she lifts her head and peers at me, eyes dark with emotion.

“I choose you to be my soul mate until the end of days. I want you to be mine and wear that ring for all to see as a testament to that. Regardless of what your prior commitments are, I want that, but I won’t ask you to if you feel compromised by the request.”

Relief has to be written on my face because it’s a tidal wave in my heart. “Then we should get moving on this. Let’s get them nice and settled on our fingers.”

She beams and hands me Precious. “This one needs a lock, too.”

I take it and give a spin, winking at her.

Her eyes follow the dagger and she murmurs, “That’s weird. No one else but me has ever used that dagger. No one’s even touched it since I got it. I’m protective. I handed it over to you. I didn’t even think about it. Huh. ”

I test the weight in my hand, noting that it feels familiar, despite not having touched it before. “It feels like it belongs here. It must be a mating thing.” I reach out and snag the needed lock.

“It must be. You are running around with all of my blood in your veins.”

The blade spins in my hand unbidden as I listen. I sit it in her palm with a small grin. My hands moved faster than I’ve seen before while I was touching it. “I think you’ve made me dangerous.”

Her eyes glow, and her smile is a unique blend of love, seduction, and pure evil. “Yeah, I’ve been told I have that effect on people.”

She holds the ring in the palm of her left hand, lays the lock of hair over it. “Ready?”

“I am.”

We watch each other, saying in unison, “Chosen.”

“The rings glow a bluish color, growing brighter and brighter, forcing our eyes away from the painful glare. My hand feels hot where the ring is touching my skin. The light ebbs and I look down with curiosity. She grabs my hand and examines it.

What had been a solid band of silver was now a carved, embedded ring. The strands of her hair are braided intricately, making up the center band of the ring, and anchored by exquisitely detailed silver catches that hold the hair in place. That muse does a hell of a job. “These are gorgeous, pet.”

“You like? You’re not saying that just so I’m not all girlish and crushed, are you? I had nothing to do with the style—it was Damien on that one. The initial request that I g—no, all his ideas, I mean. Anyway, all we gotta do is put them on each other. They’ll shrink to size, according to him.”

“You want to go first, or should I? ”

“Me first.” I pull her hand forward, stroking her fingers before sliding the ring onto her ring finger. She smiles as the ring shrinks to fit securely on her finger.

Touching my left hand, she kisses each knuckle, and then slides my ring onto the same finger I’d used for hers. My eyes slip closed and I swallow hard, pulling her into my arms. Nestled together, I feel so in love that I marvel at the difference a month or two make in life.

Looking at her hand, she murmurs, “I wear this because I love you. You make me whole. Without you, I’m nothing but a shell of a life.”

I whisper in her ear. “I wear mine because I care for you. You’ve made me a new person. You discovered the person I had forgotten existed and never want to lose. Because of what we did and will do together.”

Wrinkling her nose, she nods. “Okay. Big emotional moment over and I’m feeling good, but I have one request from you.”

“I won’t tell anyone that you were all soft with me. I promise.” I wink, pinching her leg.

Shaking her head, she mutters. “Not that. Please don’t multitask. If the gnome comes to you and wants things? Or the idiot comes back and needs things? Don’t let me come over that day. Allow me to keep that separate. I can’t deal with feeling like second place.”

I blink. “Love, she and I haven’t been together in a while. Maybe since Beltane.”

“Baby, I haven’t been with anyone but Wilde. You know, I wasn’t seeing anyone after the exes. It’s been you.”

“I appreciate that, but I had to be sure. I love that you’re wearing my ring and that I’m wearing yours. ”

I fiddle with it for a moment, the turn of the conversation making me nervous. “I’ve never worn a ring on this finger before.”

“Never? Is it okay? I’m still a little nervous about the implications, so hop in with a little more explicit definition. You look a little stunned.”

I shrug, not sure I can explain why it feels so big and how much it scares me to commit to her.

I didn’t blink when she asked, but it puts me in such a vulnerable situation.

She could destroy me—worse than anyone has.

“People have given me rings before, but always with the explicit explanation of what they weren’t or what they didn’t mean.

They put them on other fingers. I never expected anyone to do so.

I’m stunned. I mean, not even the cat has, though that’s different.

She puts rings elsewhere.” Her eyes cut to my piercings, and I shrug.

“We’re unconventional markers. She’s got some, too. ”

“I’m kind of awed and humbled that you’d want to wear mine there.” She grins a bit, eyes dancing. “You realize that if you tell anyone what a silly girl I am, I will kill you. This blows that whole ‘bad cop’ image all to hell and back.”

“It’s our secret, love.” I smile and kiss her nose.

She yawns and I smile. “You tired, baby?”

Grimacing, she nods. “I don’t want to be.”

“I know, but we’ll have tomorrow and plenty of other days.”

“Do you mind if I stay? You know, like, kind of permanently?”

I snort. “Kind of permanently? Is that akin to sort of pregnant?”

“Yeah, until you get sick of me or something.”

“I won’t. You can stay if you like, baby.

Since the rest of the family filters in between houses doing this and that, you and yours are always welcome.

Hell, I thought that was what the suitcase was for.

Hex made you a robe and Leo’s got a bunch of healthy food crap in the kitchen for your shakes and such. ”

Her eyes widen, and she tilts her head. “Your housemates have already set up things for me? Like stuff, because they knew I’d be staying here?”

I chuckle. “Oh, love. Hex and the bitch have been making bank on you since you walked through the door. The book on when you’d do what has steep odds. I think the cat even won a grand on something.”

Growling, she mutters under her breath. “She did that big furry cheater. Just tell me the bird wasn’t involved.”

“Nope. This is an in-house thing. We gamble on each other all the time. Odds on the cat and bird disappearing three minutes into the party are ten to one. I think I’ll make a chunk on that.”

She gives me a smirk. “Okay, Lucky, tomorrow you and I will visit the big palooka and I’m going to have a look at these books. Knowing this place, the boozy brunette is holding all the cards.”

I laugh and stand, holding my hand out to her. “Indeed, she is. In the morning, we’ll have her lay out the spread at breakfast.”

“Oh, the ‘yours’ in you and yours won’t be trotting through. I have no intention of letting Theodora have a crack at you. Expert help is so hard to find.” Her lips curve up.

“I don’t think she even showed a hint of interest in me when I flew by your place, baby.”

“Good. Shall we go inside and sleep now?”

I grin. “Absolutely, my love. Tomorrow is another day.”