Protection from my kidnappers.
I had barely managed to tell them I was fine where I was, wondering the whole time if I even knew who I was with anymore.
Remy had left out a pretty big detail about us being bonded. Which begged the question, why?
Why would he keep something so monumental from me?
My steps were slow, sluggish, as I left the room feeling more confused and broken than ever.
I jumped when a hand touched my shoulder, whirling around to see Tate’s surprised face. Daniel hovered behind her, his pale eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he studied me.
“Skye, what happened?” Tate asked quietly, stepping closer to me. Her gaze shifted to where Linden stood across the hall, now joking with the two men who had just listened to me tell them that he was the devil incarnate.
Sensing my eyes on him, Linden looked up, his green eyes dancing with mockery.
Tears burned the backs of my eyes, the room going watery and blurry.
Dammit, the last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of them.
Darkness blotted my vision as Daniel stepped into my line of sight. My eyes fixed on the black of his shirt, the way it stretched over his broad chest.
“Don’t look at him,” he murmured, just for my ears.
My eyes lifted to his and then Tate. “I … he lied.”
Tate’s face twisted into a grimace. “Your uncle is a snake, Skye. Of course he lied.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Remy. Remy lied to me.”
Tate stepped back like my words were a physical blow. Daniel remained stoic in front of me, keeping me from seeing my uncle and keeping Linden from seeing me as I started to fall apart.
Tate touched my wrist. “There has to be something else going on. Remy loves you, Skye. You’re mates—”
I wrenched away from her, turning from both of them and blindly hurrying down the hall before I lost it in front of everyone.
There was a side exit, and I hurried for it, not giving a shit if I tripped a fire alarm when I burst through it.
Thankfully, only the sounds of birds and cicadas greeted me on the other side.
“Skye, slow down!” Daniel said, catching up.
Tate grabbed my arm. “Skye, wait, okay? Tell us what’s going on?”
“I need to talk to Remy,” I said, shaking my head.
“He’s still in his meeting,” Daniel said. “Tate and I offered to wait for you in case you got out first.”
“Skye, you’re shaking,” Tate murmured. “Let’s sit down.” She guided me over to a bench near a flawlessly curated garden.
I barely felt the metal under me as I sat down, my mind still a jumble of thoughts, each one more confusing than the next.
Daniel stood across from us, folding his arms over his chest. “Do you need me to go get Remy?”
“No!” The word exploded out of me.
“Okay,” he said slowly, shooting Tate a confused look.
“My dad and Dante should be done with their meeting by now. I can get them,” Tate supplied.
I shook my head, on the verge of telling them both to leave me alone.
I needed to work through all of these thoughts. I needed answers.
“Do you know what a claiming is?” I turned and looked at Tate, hoping I wasn’t the only one in the dark here.
Surprise lit her features for a second. “You mean when a bonded pair … you know?”
My heart sank. Tate knew what it was, too.
Daniel couldn’t hide his chuckle. “You know?” he repeated, shaking his head. “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘consummate’, sweetheart.”
She flashed him a dirty look. “I was trying to be discreet.”
“You have two boyfriends,” he pointed out with a smirk. “I’m not entirely sure at what point you hopped on the chastity train. Call it what it is.” His green gaze turned to me, seeing more of me than I was comfortable with.
After a second, his eyes flared wide. He exhaled and stepped back, rubbing his jaw. “Oh. Shit.”
“Shit what?” Tate asked, looking back and forth between us.
I felt my cheeks heat with humiliation.
“You and Remy have never …” Tate trailed off, her mouth hanging open. “I just assumed. I mean, you’re bonded so I just assumed.”
I stood up and paced away from them. “Yeah. Apparently everyone assumed, too.”
“You didn’t know?”
I whirled around to face her. “It’s not like bonding came with a freaking handbook. I didn’t even know it was possible until I came to Blackwater, and even then, I didn’t know how it worked. I … I followed Remy’s lead.”
“So, you two aren’t bonded?” Daniel frowned.
“They are bonded,” Tate snapped, glaring at him before turning her attention to me. “I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for this, Skye. Remy loves you. It’s obvious to anyone who is around you guys for more than five minutes that you’re mates.”
“Not technically,” Daniel argued, shrugging.
Tate growled at him. “You’re not helping.”
“I’m being honest,” he shot back, taking a step forward and positioning himself between us. “In the eyes of the Council, and according to Pack Law, they aren’t mates.”
My world tilted, bile crawling up the back of my throat.
This wasn’t happening.
“Because they haven’t had sex?” she threw back, shaking her head. “That’s bullshit.”
“That’s law,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Human and shifter. A marriage, or mating, isn’t final until it’s consummated.”
“Remy and I aren’t bonded,” I murmured, numbness settling in my heart and spreading out to all of my limbs.
“There has to be a reason,” Tate said desperately, fighting harder for Remy and me than I was.
Pulling in a deep breath, I unearthed those years of coping skills I had honed in Long Mesa. I shoved my emotions down, bottling them up.
Emotions were a weakness I couldn’t afford right now.
“I need to go back to the cabin,” I said softly, blinking as I steadied myself.
I could do this.
I could at least hold it together until I made it back to the cabin.
“We’ll walk you back,” Daniel told me.
“I’m fine on my own,” I replied coolly.
He gave me a grim smile. “Yeah, well, humor us.”
“We’re not leaving you alone,” Tate added. She touched my hand. “I’m your friend, Skye.”
Was she? Tate had been Remy’s friend first. Dante was one of Remy’s best friends.
The idea that I might lose Larkin, Katy, and Rhodes was a blow that nearly brought me to my knees.
But they were all loyal to Remy, and I wasn’t entirely sure where that left all of us.
Tate’s expression turned fierce. “Oh, no you don’t.” She took a step towards me, crowding into my personal space. “I know what you’re thinking and don’t. I’m your friend no matter what boneheaded shit Remy did trying to protect you. Because I’m sure whatever his reasons are, he was doing it to protect you.”
“Pretty shitty way to protect her,” Daniel said under his breath.
Tate exhaled hard, hands curled into fists. “I will literally beat the shit out of you if you can’t shut up.”
Daniel made a face, but didn’t say anything else.
“Whatever,” I muttered, starting for the cabin and not waiting to see if they were following.
I lengthened my strides until I was practically jogging. I came around the corner of the building and collided, hard, with another body.
I didn’t have it in me to apologize, so I managed a mangled sort of smile for the person I had nearly wiped out. At least, until I saw his face.
“Trace,” Tate spat, coming up behind me.
“Tatum,” he greeted coolly before looking at me. “Skye. You look—”
“It is so important that you
not finish that statement with anything less than politeness,” Tate cut in brusquely. “No one is in the mood.”
His lips hooked into a smile. “Trouble in paradise?”
I moved to step around him, but he mirrored my movements, blocking me.
“Get out of my way,” I hissed, ready to punch him as hard as I had hit Preston the night before. Maybe harder because of what he had done to Larkin at school last semester.
“Or what?” he asked, his tone mocking. He cocked his head to the side. “Where’s your … Well, he isn’t your mate, is he?”
It hadn’t taken long for that to get around.
“Her mate is in a meeting,” Daniel supplied, stepping around me to position himself between Trace and I.
Huh.
Despite what he had said about us not being mates, he was clearly sticking up for us now.
Trace eyed Daniel, his gaze indifferently appraising him. “Do I know you?”
Daniel grinned, his smile anything but genuine. “You really don’t want to.”
With a snort, Trace rolled his eyes and stepped back. “Whatever. I have a meeting.” His gaze landed on me. “Skye and I can catch up later when she’s back home in Long Mesa. My pack and her former are good friends.” His eyes lit with cruelty. “I’ve even had the chance to sample a few of their … amenities. It’s pretty cool that they give omegas their own house inside the pack.”
I exploded forward, moving so fast it was a miracle that Daniel caught me around the waist and pulled me back before my hands could wrap around Trace’s neck.
“Get out of here!” Tate ordered Trace, pointing a finger at the main building.
“Calm the fuck down,” Daniel whispered in my ear.
I was almost beyond reason, struggling to break free. My wolf strained for release, ready to work out our frustration and pain on Trace’s throat.
Smirking, Trace walked backwards. “I’ll see you around, Skye.”
Daniel grunted as my elbow connected with his abs. “A little help?” he asked Tate, still struggling to keep me from getting away.
Tate framed my face in her hands. “Skye, stop. You can’t go after him right now. He’s an heir, and there’s people watching.”
I let her words penetrate and glanced around. Sure enough, several Alphas were frowning at us.
“I’m fine,” I said softly. “Let me go.”
Daniel released me warily. “Let’s just get back to your cabin.”
I jerked my head in a sharp nod and walked to the cabin, not stopping until I was inside.
“Do you want us to stay?” Tate offered once we were inside.
“You should go,” I replied, shaking my head. I needed to call Mom. I needed to hear her voice, hear her tell me everything would be all right.
“Okay,” Tate agreed slowly. “I’m next door. Call me if you need anything.”
I nodded absently.
Daniel opened the door for her. “I’m going to hang out on the front porch. At least until Gabe or Remy get back.”
“You don’t have to,” I said, shaking my head.
“I promised them I would look out for you until they got back,” he replied with a shrug. “But I’ll stay out of your way.”
Tate hesitated at the door. “Skye, you need to hear what Remy has to say. It’s probably not what you think.”
“And if it is?” I asked woodenly, sinking onto a chair.
She pressed her lips into a line and shrugged. “Then I’ll be second in line to beat the shit out of him.”
That brought an involuntary smile to my mouth. “I don’t think I could beat him up.”
She laughed. “Not you. Katy. We both know she’ll kick his ass.”
“She’s his sister.”
“And she’s your best friend,” she countered. “Don’t forget you have people who love you. And I truly believe Remy is at the top of that list.”
“I hope you’re right,” I admitted, closing my eyes.
“I’m outside if you need anything,” Daniel added before closing the door.
The silence inside the cabin was deafening, almost unbearable. After a few minutes of sitting on the couch, I stood and started pacing. After my first trip around the room, I kicked off my boots and peeled off my socks, wanting to hear the sound of my feet slapping against the hardwood planks.
I was on my fifth rotation around the lower level of the cabin when the front door opened.
Remy stepped through first, and my heart surged. That pure feeling of joy whenever I saw him swept over me, carrying me away for a second.
He smiled back at me, moving towards me as Gabe entered behind him.
Just before he could reach for me, I stepped back and held a hand up to stop him.
“We need to talk.” I was amazed at how calm my voice was since my insides were shaking apart.
Remy froze, his eyes searching my face. A muscle in his jaw popped, and he glanced back at Gabe, exchanging a long look with his father that I couldn’t decipher.
Sighing, Gabe nodded and headed back for the door. He paused when the door was open to look back at me.
“We love you, Skye,” he said softly, his blue eyes sad. “No matter what.”
I wanted to say it back before the door closed between us, but I was too busy staring at Remy and feeling my heart break into a million pieces.
37
“Skye, you need to let me explain,” Remy said softly, holding up his hands, surrendering.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I definitely have a lot of questions,” I fired back as soon as the door shut and Gabe was gone.
Remy sank down onto the chair and rubbed his temples. “Can you sit down?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “No, Remy, I don’t want to sit down. I want to know what the hell a claiming mark is, and why everyone seems to know about it except for me?”
He looked warily up at me. “A claiming mark is the final way the mate bond is cemented. It’s … complicated.”
My eyes narrowed. I was getting so sick of that word. “Then un-complicate it, Rem. I’m really over being in the dark all the goddamn time.”
“Fine,” he ground out, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “When true mates bond, the physical bond is the last part of the bond. When mates give themselves to each other, they claim each other. Mark each other.”
“Mark each other?” I echoed, wrinkling my nose.
“During the consummation of the physical bond,” Remy finished softly.
It took my brain a second to catch up. “You mean sex?”
He flinched. “Yeah.”
“What am I not understanding here?” A strange sort of unease started gathering in my stomach.
Remy exhaled hard and looked away from me. “Consummating the bond is the last step to sealing the mating bond. It makes the bond almost completely unbreakable. During ... it, mates mark each other.”
“Mark?”
“Bite,” he amended. “It leaves a mark that’s visible to other wolves. It brands the mate as claimed by a mate. Kind of like a wolf version of a wedding band. You see the mark, you know that person is taken. Mated.”
“So, you’re worried about a vampire-ish version of a tattoo messing up our skin?” I sputtered, still confused as hell.
“No,” he insisted vehemently, his head snapping up and his dark eyes boring into me.
It still felt like I was missing a vital piece of this puzzle.
I hadn’t thought it was possible for me to be more humiliated, but I was rapidly finding there were more layers to embarrassment than an onion as another thought struck me.
“Do your parents know?”
He looked away and sighed.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered. “They do. They know that we haven’t … that we never …”
“It’s complicated.” He raked a hand through his hair in frustration.
“I’m really fucking sick of that word, Remy,” I snapped.
His chest heaved. “I don’t kno
w what you want me to say.”
“I want the truth!” I shouted, throwing my arms up in the air. “I want the person who says he loves me, the man I thought was my mate, to tell me the truth!”
His eyes flashed dangerously. “I’ve never lied to you. And I’m your mate, Skye. Last month, today, and every single day for the rest of our lives.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “No, you’ve just decided to keep vital information to yourself.”
“Because it doesn’t matter!” he snapped, his hands curling around the arms of the chair. “You’re my mate whether we’ve had sex or not. Our bond isn’t based on that!”
“Is there even a bond?” I challenged. “Because according to the Council, we’re not bonded. So, please, tell me why the hell the first time I hear about a claiming mark or consummating a bond is from my uncle.”
He flinched, having the decency to look ashamed. “I should have told you.”
I glared at him, something I never thought I would do. “Yeah, you should have. So, why didn’t you? Why did you let me walk into a room with a man I hate and people I don’t even freaking know to find out?”
“Because once it happens, there’s no going back. The bond can be broken, but it’s messy.”
I still wasn’t following. I arched my eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate.
He exhaled hard through his nose, nostrils flaring and jaw tight. “It would be like ripping a heart out of a body. It would be messy and jagged and brutal, and there’s no going back. It’s why so few bonded mates break their bond. Once you’re fully bonded, trying to undo it is basically suicide.”
Ice settled around my heart and that tendril of unease fisted into a knot of worry.
No, something more potent and vile than worry.
Horror.
My mouth went dry, my knees buckling as I staggered back a step. “Do you … Are you worried that you don’t want us,” I choked on the word, “to be a permanent thing?”
Remy surged to his feet, and I scrambled back until I hit the wall behind me.
“Skye—”
Prey (Blackwater Pack Book 2) Page 33
