Page 160 of Pretty When She Breaks

“I just told Kaos to grab some of his clothes,” I told her, moving over to sit close.

She looked up at me through her hair. “You have some?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah. The scent won’t be strong, but it’s better than nothing.”

She surprised me by wrapping her arms around me and moving so she was straddling my lap. “Thank you,” she said, nuzzling into my chest. Her relief saturated her scent, and a purr started in my chest in response.

“Of course,” I said, holding her closer. “You are ours to cherish and honour, and I’m going to do it right this time.”

I hesitated.

“Unless, of course, you don’t want that,” I managed, my words stiff. “I understand I illegally bonded you, and you’d be within your rights to press charges.”

“Right,” Laurel said, chewing her lip. “Actually, I have something to tell you about that. I went to an omega clinic the other day, one where I knew they had a seer on staff.”

I stiffened, my gaze fixed on her. “I see. Clever. They detected the dark bond, then? You have it on record?”

She nodded, and I was kind of proud, actually, even as disappointment curdled in my gut. She was smart. Simply showing up at a location where a seer was didn’t break my commands, though I’d released her at that point, anyway. A seer was a person born with the rare ability to visualize bonds; simply by looking at her, they would have been able to identify that she was dark bonded.

“They pulled me aside,” she said, “and sat me down to examine it.”

Laurel pulled out an envelope that had been tucked inside a pillowcase and handed me the report inside. I scanned the page, my confusion growing. I re-read it a couple of times.

“Consensual?” I asked, looking up at her for an explanation. “They determined the bond was consensual? Did you bribe them?”

She shook her head, taking the paper back and tucking it into the envelope. “I thought it might be but had to be sure. They said it was a hard one to assess, but in the end, determined I’d given consent.”

“But why?”

“It was because of my dad.” She looked up at me, a deep pain in her eyes. “You were there, and this bond was going to force its way in, but I surrendered. Because that way, my dad would lose. I’d never have to bond whoever he chose; in a way, I was free. Don’t get me wrong—I was still pissed off, and that’s probably why the seer went back and forth a bit, but yeah. It’s legitimate.”

She slid the envelope back to where she’d stored it and reached up to stroke my cheek. “I don’t want to press charges against you. I want to stay with you. I know why you bonded me, and I know it wasn’t because you’re a bad person.”

“If I could take it back, I would. I’d offer you a princess bond if I could do it over.”

“The last pack that did that ended up dead,” she joked. “So far, the pack that offered me the dark bond has stayed alive. Let’s keep that pattern up, huh?”

EIGHTY-SEVEN

LAUREL

“You’re an angel,” I said as Kaos climbed back up into the nest, duffel bag in tow.

“By the way, what the heck kind of evil spirit is possessing your cat?” he said. “It took me nearly an hour to find him because he’s black and hiding in the back of your closet. Then he was acting like I was murdering him when I put him in the carrier. He shot right under a couch when I let him out, and I didn’t see him again.”

He showed me his forearms, which were now covered in scratches. I grimaced. Jade had given us the location of a safe house of hers, and Kaos had taken Muppet there for safety.

“I’m sorry. He’ll probably stay there for a while. He did that to me when I first got him. He’ll probably refuse to eat for a few days as well.”

Poor Muppet.

Kaos sighed dramatically and planted himself next to me, his leg brushing mine. I pulled the duffel bag over, handing out the contents like Christmas presents. Finch’s notebookcame first, and I felt a distinct flood of relief from him the moment he held it in his hands. Kaos had the majority of the contents and took them over to the corner he’d claimed to start setting up a workstation for himself.

He looked up as I reached into the side pocket of the bag, pulling out the gun and thigh holster I kept there. The metal was cold, and it felt heavy in my hands as I turned it over.

“I’ve dreamed about using this gun for a long time,” I said, looking up and meeting his eyes. “Does that make me crazy?”

Kaos reached out and stroked my cheek. His eyes were large and soft, brows creased with worry. “No. It’s completely sane to want to kill your enemies.”