Gideon sags slightly, like he's finally exhausted all the words in his arsenal. His wish has come true, I certainly understand now.
His secret is out... and so is mine.
As the compulsion ends, Gideon blinks a few times and then looks in stunned silence from me to Callum.
My feet slam back to the floor. I stumble as the power rushing from my body cuts off abruptly. Without it, I’m weak and vulnerable. I know what happens next. Violent trembling starts in my hands and slowly spreads up my arms until my entire body shakes like a leaf. I’ll lose consciousness soon. Already my thoughts are blurry. This time I won’t get away.
No pity. Trust no one. Keep it moving.In my stupidity, I thought I'd outgrown my rules. I'm paying for it now. I beg my feet to move, but it's as though I’m stuck in quicksand, sinking deeper by the second.
Then the room tilts and everything goes dark.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
CALLUM
What the hell just happened?How did we go from fated mate damage control to floating hair and trancelike magic?
“Sheena, wake up, baby. Sheena!”
Gideon’s earlier robotic speech, which will haunt my nightmares for years to come, is long gone. With the way he’s yelling now, it’s clear he has moved fully into the freaking the fuck out stage. I’m not far behind him if I’m being honest.
“Callum, help me!” His frantic roar finally pushes me to move.
I kneel down beside them. “Calm down, man. She's breathing—see, her chest is moving. Feel her pulse.” Gideon does as I ask, gently pressing two fingers to her throat.
“She's going to be fine,” I assure him, slumping to the floor and leaning my head against the cabinet. Physically, I believe that, but mentally and emotionally? I’m not so sure. This is a mess.
“Let's take her up to her room,” I suggest. Gideon grunts, scooping Sheena up in his arms and taking off up the stairs. I trail after him, trying to organize my thoughts.
Sheena is incredibly powerful. The way her face morphed was distinctly demonic, but I didn’t recognize any of the major power types. It couldn’t be witch magic. The aura isn’t the same. And both Gideon and Sheena looked like puppets...
What the fuck is she?
From the look of dread on her face just before her magic activated, she knew what was about to happen. I want to yell at her and call her a hypocrite for hiding this from us. She fucking tore into us for not telling her about the mate bond, but this is just as big if not bigger. But the terror on her face... She wasn't faking that. Internally, I groan at how quickly this spiraled out of control.
As Gideon slides Sheena under the covers, I notice her phone light up on the bedside table with an incoming call. My brother’s name flashes across the screen.Why is he calling?I gesture for Gideon to follow me out of the room as I swipe to answer the call.
Immediately, Ciprian starts talking a mile a minute. “Well, what happened? Are you really his mate? You've left me on read here, Sheena. I’m freaking out.”
I should have known. Why is he always at the root of my problems?
“What did you do?” I demand, having already heard more than enough to confirm his involvement. My question is met with dead silence on the other end of the line, and I snap. "Ciprian, I’m not fucking around here. What did you do? Are you trying to fuck her or fuck me over? She doesn't need your shit."
I'm getting madder by the second, and my brother just gave me a target for it all.
It doesn’t take long for him to clap back.
“Get off your fucking high horse. You and Gideon always decide you know best. Sheena is my friend, and you've been lying to her.” Ciprian sounds cold and furious, but I’m used to his brand of bitter bullshit.
“Of course, you would try to make trouble for me.” I scoff. “You just can’t resist sticking your nose in my business. I'm not a nightmare, so of course I have no right to privacy and deserve to be forever alone."
He hisses. I can practically see him rolling his eyes through the phone.
“Don’t be dramatic, brother. You don't really believe that."
How dare he?My hand clenches around the phone, and Gideon watches me with wide eyes. I’m too far gone to hold back now. I start to pace, cutting a path along the hallway. I’m too tense to stand still.
