Tenia hugged Torion and again made him swear to keep his power secret. Then she bit back tears and took several deep breaths to prepare herself to face the wolf outside. She knew he was still there. She couldfeelhim through the bond. Tenia hated the fact that there was a part of her that found comfort in the damn thing. For the first time in a very long time, she didn’t feel alone. But she knew it was a false sense of security. She was still alone. She couldn’t trust him.
She pulled the door closed and forced herself to meet Skender’s silver eyes. “I don’t trust you,” she said.
“That’s okay. I’ll still protect him with my life,” Skender said, and the conviction she heard in his voice was like iron.
“If you hurt him, or allow anyone else to hurt him, I will ruin you.”
“You already have,” he replied.
“No,” she growled. “What I will do to you will make anything Alston could do look like child’s play,” she said as she stepped closer, keeping her voice low. The confusion of emotions coursing through her made her shake. She wanted to rejoice at the idea of having a partner, someone to stand at her side, to share the weight of the heavy burdens on her shoulders … but not like this. Tenia wouldn’t stand with the enemy. She glanced around, realizing she’d been standing there much too long, simply glaring at him. He wasn’t what she needed, even if there was a part of her thatwantedhim. There wasn’t anyone else in the corridor, but that didn’t mean there weren’t ears listening.
“I would never do anything to hurt you or Torion,”Skender said, using their bond as if he, too, realized there might be unseen ears listening. His voice was urgent and demanding. It was clear he wanted desperately for her to believe him.“I don’t expect you to trust me, Tenia. But I’ll keep telling you and showing you. I will protect him if I do nothing else good in my life. Torion will be safe.”
Tenia stared into his eyes, her jaw clenched tightly.Dammit! I wish I could trust him. To know that her precious young was safe when she couldn’t be with him. That would mean more to her than anything.“I don’t know why the Great Luna has done this,”she said, using the bond because she couldn’t say this out loud.“But I trusther. Why should I trust you?”
“Because she made me yours,”he practically whispered as his hand reached up and gently cupped her cheek.“I am not worthy of you or your son. But I swear this to you, Tenia. No harm will come to him.”
Tenia felt a tear escape her eye, and Skender tenderly swiped it away. She couldn’t stay there any longer without drawing attention. She gave him a single nod and turned on her heel, heading toward her meeting with Myanin. Tenia prayed to the Great Luna that maybe, just maybe, the wolf was telling her the truth.
Myanin could tellsomething was bothering Tenia as the fae approached. “Are you all right?” she asked. Though they still didn’t know each other all that well, the look on Tenia’s face was easy to interpret. The fae seemed like she was ready to murder someone.
Tenia pushed the doors open without answering, and Myanin followed. “Are we going to the warlock mountain?” Tenia asked.
“Yes.”
The fae held out her arm, and Myanin rested her hand on it. They flashed, but instead of appearing inside of the queen’s quarters like last time, they materialized in a forest. “We’re just outside the perimeter of the warlock stronghold,” Tenia explained.
“Okay, does that mean we have something to talk about before we go in? Like why you look like you’re going to gut the first person that says the wrong thing to you?”
“I met my mate.” Tenia said the word “mate” as if it was the vilest tasting word in any language.
Myanin’s brow rose. “I was unaware that fae took mates.” She’d heard the whispers that there had been recent matings betweenCanis lupusand fae, but it was still hard to believe.
“We don’t, or at least we didn’t. Not in the way other supernaturals do. But things are changing,” Tenia said.
Myanin couldn’t help but snort. “That seems to be a common theme as of late. The winds of change and all that.” She paused and watched Tenia. The fae fidgeted with her clothes in a most un-faelike manner, straightening her already straight vest and tugging on her bracers. “You don’t look too happy about your new mate.”
“What gave it away? Thenoteof disgust in my voice or thelookof disgust on my face?” Tenia snapped.
Myanin’s lips dropped into a frown. Up until now, she’d seen nothing but kindness and patience from the fae. “And here I thought finding a mate was supposed to be a good thing. What’s the problem?”
Tenia huffed. “Uh, how about the fact that he works for the Order?”
“We both work for the Order.”
“Not really,” Tenia said. “We’re pretending. And I’m only doing it because I have no choice, unless I want my child killed, or worse, turned into one of Ludcarab and Alston’s pets. And you’ve had a complete change of heart, broken spirit, crushed soul, the whole nine yards. You’re new and different, though still sort of creepy.”
Myanin’s eyes widened. “Okay. Ouch. But thank you … I think.” She stared at the fae who continued to fidget. “Did you speak with him?” Myanin folded her arms in front of her chest and leaned against a tree. She assumed they weren’t heading in to speak to the warlock queen until Tenia calmed down. Maybe talking it out was what she needed. Myanin was turning over a new leaf, so to speak, the wholenew and differentas Tenia had so sweetly pointed out. Shewastrying to be less selfish. The Great Luna had done exactly as she’d said and given Myanin a new heart. Now, the djinnwantedto care about someone else. It was weird. First, she’d reached out to the warlock queen. Hell, she’d even shared her cotton candy. And now, she was going to listen to Tenia’s problems. She was practically a new person, except for the creepy thing, apparently. Myanin almost smiled to herself, but the scathing look Tenia sent her kept the djinn’s lips in check lest the fae decided the smile was because Myanin was enjoying the fae’s distress. Which she wasn’t. She was over male drama. She’d had enough of her own to last several lifetimes.
“Unfortunately,Canis lupusmales sometimes know instantly when they meet their mates. Though I have heard that for some it takes longer for the mate bond to become entirely clear. That didn’t seem to be the case for my wolf,” Tenia said. Her face scrunched up as if she’d just smelled something bad. She shook her head. “Notmywolf,”she corrected. “I mean this wolf. He isn’t mine. I don’t want him to be mine.”
It sounded to Myanin as if the fae was trying hard to convince herself the words were true. “Does that mean he was able to link with your mind?”
Tenia nodded. “Even now I can feel him. I’m blocking him out, but he said powerful emotions can weaken the walls keeping him out. Which isn’t good for me because I’m feeling lots of strong emotions right now.”
“What else did he say?” Myanin asked. She’d tucked a small amount of cotton candy in one of her pants many pockets and, in hindsight, was thankful she’d chosen to do so. The djinn had already multiple times thanked the Great Luna that her beloved cotton candy no longer tasted like ash. She pulled out the bag, ignored the eye roll Tenia sent her way, and pulled out a small chunk, popping the sugary goodness into her mouth.
“He said he’d protect Torion,” Tenia admitted, albeit begrudgingly.
