There it was. The carrot dangling just out of reach. She forced her lips to move, though she wasn’t completely sure she wanted the question to take flight. “What am I to you?”
His arm tightened around her and the expression on his face looked as if a heated battle warred inside his head. “You’re my mihara.” He paused for one heart-stopping beat and met her gaze head-on. “My mate.”
Chapter Twelve
It was a beautiful spring evening, Katy was finally getting another trip out of Priest’s house and her brother was happy. Heck, everyone was happy, the news that a new warrior primo had been named and a celebration imminent making visitors at Priest’s house a nonstop event. In fact, the only two people who seemed miserable were her and Priest.
Katy glared out the back of Alek’s Jeep as they drove to the bar, Tate, Jade and Nanna’s excited chatter mingling with the wind. The lack of doors and windows did a number on her hair, but she didn’t care. Sure, it was a party, but it wasn’t the first time she’d celebrated one of her brother’s accomplishments and it wouldn’t be the last. Not to mention, dressing up would only give Priest the wrong impression.
Right. Because the complete shift in wardrobe doesn’t say something else entirely.
Okay, maybe she’d spent a little extra time getting ready. But the jeans and cobalt blue cotton wraparound shirt with its dolman sleeves was more about exploring and fitting in with the people she was slowly getting to know than appealing to Priest. So what if the soft cotton and faded denim molded her curves more than her normal skirts?
Besides, her time prepping had nothing on Jade. She’d primped for over an hour, and while she’d stuck to black jeans and girly combat boots, she’d paired them with a light cedar-green sweater tunic that accented her striking eyes. Unlike the simple French braid she normally wore to the shop and around the house, she’d left her soft black hair loose with at least four or five delicate charms braided into strands on one side.
Tate hadn’t gone to nearly the trouble Jade had, though he definitely had the look of a man ready to work his mojo on any and all women who caught his eye. Not to mention, the way his jeans and T-shirt showcased his muscled body, he wouldn’t have to bring his A game.
Nanna leaned forward enough to make sure Tate could hear from the driver’s seat. “Do you think Priest and Alek will be finished by the time we get there?”
Tate downshifted and took the last curve into downtown Eureka Springs like the Jeep was his instead of someone else’s. The fact that Alek had actually volunteered his Jeep for carting everyone around while Priest finished the last of Alek’s new tattoo only solidified his change in demeanor. He never let anyone drive his Jeep. Ever. “I checked in before we left. He’ll be at least a half hour behind us. Maybe a little more. But they’re close.”
Nanna nodded and eased back in her seat. Even she’d taken a little extra care in her outfit, choosing a breezy taupe skirt and a winter-white gypsy-styled blouse for their night out. She openly gave Katy the once-over, her gaze zeroing in on the base of Katy’s neck before she crooked her mouth in a smug grin. “You took it off.”
Without thinking better of it, Katy smoothed her fingers along the hollow of her neck. She’d grown so accustomed to the weight of Priest’s medallion in the time since he’d put it on her, it had taken her a full day of all but hiding from her so-called mate before she realized she still wore it. Ever since she’d mustered her mini-rebellion and taken it off this morning, she’d felt off. Adrift. As if the slightest wind could throw her off course. “I didn’t realize what it meant. It’s better I don’t give him any more mixed signals.”
Nanna rolled her lips inward and averted her face, but the humor Katy glimpsed in her eyes as she did so almost made Katy think her grandmother had a direct line to her thoughts. “I take it he told you,” she said once she’d schooled her expression.
“You knew?”
The sudden silence from the front seat and the smirk Tate unsuccessfully tried to hide in the rearview mirror said they’d not only overhead the conversation, but had also been in on the secret.
Katy scooted forward and peeked around for a good look at Jade’s face. “You all knew?”
Well, of course, they knew. Tate all but told you as much that first day. Remember?
“It’s a bit hard to miss when a Volán finds his mate,” Naomi said calmly beside her. “It’s also a treat for the rest of us. Nothing more entertaining than watching the fireworks.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Naomi shrugged it off. “What? And give you reason to run? Why would I do that? Besides, Eerikki would have only chased you.” Her gaze dropped to the empty space at the base of Katy’s throat and she grinned. “Although, you’re giving him ample reasons on your own.”
“Yeah, I caught that, too.” Jade giggled from the front seat. “This is gonna be fun.”
Unsure if she was pissed off or just stymied by the fact that she’d been the last to know, Katy slid back in her seat and clamped her mouth tight.
If the rest of the crew realized they’d just thrown her for an extra spin on her already out of control merry-go-round, they didn’t show it. Just shifted into a rapid-fire discussion on the events planned for tonight and who was expected.
Tate whipped into a parking lot behind a yellow building with green trim and killed the engine. “Rogue’s Manor, ladies. Who’s ready to party?”
“Hell, yeah!” Jade cheered as she hopped out of the front seat.
Naomi laughed and let Tate help her climb out of the backseat, though Katy knew damned good and well she could probably hop out as easy as anyone despite her age.
“Do you think we’ll hear anything from the other seers while we’re here?” Katy said as she jumped to the cracked asphalt. She’d hounded David with as many voicemails as she dared, hovered around the seers gathered trying to gain information and crammed as much Volán knowledge as she could the last several days, but the lack of information and growing helplessness grated what was left of her patience.
As one, Jade, Tate and Nanna all swiveled their heads her direction, their expressions similar to what they’d have had if she’d grown three heads and sprouted a forked tail.
“What? I just thought if everyone was going to be here, we might learn if anyone’s seen or learned something on their own.” Not to mention she needed something else to think about besides Priest.
Naomi motioned Jade and Tate ahead. “You two go on in. Kateri and I will be along in a minute.”
For a second, Katy gave serious consideration to snatching Alek’s keys from Tate’s fingers and hightailing it back to Priest’s place. Or a hotel, for that matter. Because Kateri and I will be along in a minute was likely code speak for I need to pull my granddaughter’s head out of her ass.
Jade must’ve figured the same thing because she shot Katy a semi-sympathetic look and shrugged her shoulders before disappearing in the bar. Tate studied Katy, scanned the street, and circled the key fob like an old west gunslinger. “How about if I hang out here while you talk? Priest put wards up, but he’d kick my ass if I left Katy unguarded.”
He’d put wards up? When? Because he’d spent the better part of the last two days working on Alek’s marks, meeting with the clan’s seers and dealing with visitors in general. Not that she was bitter with the lack of attention, because she wasn’t. At least that was the line she was sticking to until she actually believed it. Fake it till you make it and all that.
With a firm grip on her arm, Naomi guided her to a metal park bench braced along the sidewalk for tourists. “I know your goals where your parents are concerned, nahina. I also know sitting idle is the hardest thing anyone could ever ask you to do. But what you don’t realize is that Eerikki is doing quite the opposite. Apparently you don’t see it, but he’s working every outlet he can to find the remaining primo families and, in turn, Drav
en.”
Katy dropped to the park bench, the shock of what Nanna had shared adding extra weight to gravity as she did so. “He is?”
“He is. And you’d see that if you weren’t so caught up in either avoiding him or refusing to look at things beyond the lens you’re used to.” Nanna rested easy against the bench’s high back, crossed her legs and stared out at what was left of the sunset. Only a thin slice of deep mango peeked between the store fronts and the deep green leaves from the trees around them wavered against the night’s darkening skies. “Your mother wasn’t your father’s mate.”
The sharp shift in topic captured Katy’s attention as little else could have. “She wasn’t?”
“No. Volán males can only see the aura that surrounds their mate once they’ve accepted their powers. Since he shunned his quest, he never received that guidance.” Sadness filled her gaze, the look of a mother who knew all too well that their child had not only missed an opportunity but suffered unknowingly for it. “As couples went, they did well. Well balanced and peaceful. But it was nothing compared to the life I had with my mate. To the deep relationship any Volán woman shares with her man.”
“Are you trying to tell me this whole mystical arranged marriage hocus-pocus is all unicorns and sunshine?”
“No, I’m trying to tell you you’re uniquely paired. For God’s sake, Kateri, look how many people today sign up for those online dating sites and try to match based on compatibility. This is no different, only the algorithm is unbeatable because it’s designed by fate. Don’t tell me you don’t feel it.”
“Feel what?”
Nanna scowled at her. “Don’t play dumb, nahina. It doesn’t become you. I’ve watched you avoiding him the last few days. I see the pain it causes you. The pain it causes him. That urge to be with him—the pull you feel when you’re away from him—is natural because he’s part of you.”
It hadn’t been pain at first. More like the discomfort you felt when you walked out of your house and worried you’d accidentally locked your keys inside. Or left water running that was sure to overflow. Every time she put more distance between them, it had been all she could do not to turn around and cut the space in half.
Today, though...today had been worse. A growing unease and gnawing pressure behind her sternum. Still, the idea of giving in to that sensation battered against the life she’d built for herself. “I don’t want to be dependent on a man. I can take care of myself.”
Surprising the heck right out of Katy, Naomi let loose with a sharp bark of laughter.
Katy folded her arms across her chest. “It’s not funny.”
“Actually, it is, because you’re looking at it the wrong way. Understandable, given the way you’ve grown up, but your vantage point is slanted. Colored by the everyday mindset of the singura instead of your true race.”
“So, what? I should just happily jump into his arms, simper around and rely on him?”
“I know you never met my mate, but can you actually envision me simpering at any time in my life?” Not waiting for an answer, Naomi kept going. “No. I didn’t. I wouldn’t. That’s not what Volán women do. The problem is you’re seeing Eerikki as a separate part of yourself. But in truth, he’s no different than an extension of your body.”
Stymied, Katy just blinked back at her grandmother. As if the repeated effort to clear her eyesight might somehow unscramble her brain in the process.
“Think about it this way,” Naomi said. “How much more difficult would your life be if you didn’t have your hands? Your feet? Your eyes? Eerikki is just another part of you. Without him, life is harder. Not impossible, but more complicated. Uncomfortable. With him, things flow. Feel good.”
“But I did fine before I met him.”
Naomi smiled softly and her voice lowered, the gentleness of her tone a stark contrast to the power of her words. “Because until you met him, you didn’t know what you were missing.”
Lightning piercing through her chest couldn’t have been more appropriate. That was exactly the difference. The truth she’d tried to avoid but grew more and more incapable of distancing herself from with each look from Priest. Each deep, rumbling comment and confident touch.
She tried to swallow, but the realization left a boulder-sized knot wedged in the base of her throat. “So, I have no choice?”
“You have a choice. He knows you’re his mate, but you are the one who seals the bond when you accept him.”
A shiver that had nothing to do with the cooling temperatures snaked down her back.
Take what’s yours.
Priest had repeated the phrase ample times since their first day at the cove. Had insisted he wouldn’t push her until she was ready. But maybe he’d meant something else altogether. “You mean sex?”
“No, nahina. I mean when you accept him with your heart.”
Across the street, a couple she recognized from visits to Priest’s house ambled toward the bar. Neither looked much older than Katy, maybe nearing their late twenties to early thirties at most. Though, with the way Voláns aged, they could be closer to fifty or sixty for all she knew. They walked with their arms comfortably banded around each other’s waist, an easy synchronicity in their relaxed gait that looked like something from one of those epic love stories. Were they mates? Just dating? Finding their way? And how did a woman go about giving her heart to a man? Or, maybe the more important question was how to avoid it until they were absolutely sure.
“What’s that look like?” Katy asked still eyeing the couple.
Naomi sighed and patted Katy’s thigh. “My poor girl. Always trying to put a description on the indescribable or logic to emotion.” Like Katy, she watched the couple disappear inside then turned her gaze on Katy. “It’s not what things look like where your mate is concerned that matters, but how it feels.”
That.
That right there was the most terrifying proposition of all. To feel meant to lose control. To relinquish sound reasoning and planning. To take unnecessary and potentially painful risks. “I’m not sure I know how to do that.”
Grinning, Naomi stood, clasped Katy’s wrist and pulled her to her feet. “You’ll learn. And quickly I’d imagine with a man like Eerikki.” Her gaze dropped to the empty space at the base of Katy’s throat and the grin shifted to more of a smirk. “But just know...the more you run, the more heated the game will be.”
Chapter Thirteen
Priest was exhausted. The last two days had been nonstop, the biggest chunk of it spent giving Alek a mark worthy of a primo and imbuing it with his magic. The rest he’d spent building wards around Rogue’s Manor and guiding Alek as fellow warriors visited to offer their vows. Having the party at his house would’ve been a hell of a lot easier, but Kateri was obviously itching for a change of venue. Considering she’d spent the time since learning she was his mate diving into all things Volán and avoiding him like the plague, it was the only way he knew to give her some relief.
So, he’d slipped out of the house while everyone else was asleep to get the job done. He sure as hell wasn’t getting any sleep anyway.
He stalked across the parking lot toward the bar’s main entrance, Alek quiet yet focused beside him. Which was the exact opposite of the one-on-one time they’d spent at the shop. Alek might have only learned of their race three weeks ago, but now he seemed bound and determined to make up for lost time in short order.
Hard not to blame the guy for being tight-lipped and nervous tonight, though. Nothing slapped a man to attention more than realizing the extent of responsibility they’d been saddled with.
Priest pulled open the door for Alek and waved him through. “Relax. It’s a celebration. Not your first presect. The goal’s for you to have a good time and get to know people.”
“Says the man who looks like he’d gladly take on every MMA contender at once just to take the edge off.” Ale
k hesitated halfway through the doorway and lowered his voice. “Speaking of which, how much longer are you going to be able to fight back...” He motioned toward Priest and shrugged like he wasn’t sure how to address the black elephant. “You know. Your thing. If you two being apart makes you both pissed off, aren’t you just begging for trouble if you don’t do something?”
“Oh, I’m going to do something. How much and when is the only matter in question. Just remember what I said about not getting between me and your sister. I don’t care how much new mojo you’ve got. If you interfere, I’ll rip your guts up through your throat and hang you with them.”
Alek froze, a whole bevy of emotions flashing across his face, not the least of which was indecision about letting Priest through the door.
“Relax, big brother. I’m yanking your chain.” Priest put a hand to Alek’s shoulder, urged him forward and muttered. “Mostly.”
Before Alek could dig in his heels and follow up on the quip, the crowd caught sight of him and sent up a chorus of welcomes. Calling the place a manor was pushing it, but the maroon-painted walls, stained woodwork and old-English tapestries gave the place a ton of character.
And it was crowded. Packed with enough clans people they had to have come from as far as a hundred miles out. Not surprising considering their network and the importance of a primo being named. Also not surprising was, while he and Alek might have been well over an hour late to the party, the clan hadn’t wasted time getting things rolling. At least a third of them filled the dance floor while the rest ignored the tables and meandered from group to group.
Standing with Alek, Priest shook hands, hugged and high-fived those who approached, but it still only took him three seconds to lock sights on his mate. Standing with a cluster of men and women Jade often ran with, Kateri sipped what he’d bet was one of those fruity cocktails Jade always ordered and watched as everyone crowded around Alek.
Interesting. Normally Kateri stayed near the fringes of the clan’s social circles. Watching versus talking. And while he hadn’t actually caught her in conversation this time, she was still a part of the fray and even smiling a little bit.
Guardian’s Bond Page 13
