It was Morgan who shattered the silence, her voice sharp as broken glass. “Did you get whatever it was that you needed? And what do we do now? We just hide here and hope the big bad shifters don’t sniff us out?”
Nico stopped pacing and dropped into a chair, elbows on knees, hands steepled under his chin. “Yes, we got what we need,” he glanced at Raphael. The demon had called him as soon as he’d left the club he’d been at and had shared what the bear shifter had given him. And Nico confirmed the information,considering he’d found the safe and gotten the documents. His gaze shifted back to the females. “For the moment, we stay hidden until you three tell us if you want the tattoos, then we can move forward,” he said, voice low but certain. “Before I go to the council, I want you three safe.” His phone vibrated and he pulled it out to look at the screen. It was from Verion. “And speak of the devil, our tattooist will be here in fifteen minutes.”
Akira’s gaze pinned him. “That doesn’t leave us much time to make such a major decision.”
Raphael’s lips twisted in a bitter smile. “You could have all the time in the world to consider the pros and cons and still not be able to decide. Our world is so unknown to you and most likely scary. Nothing can prepare you for it.” He looked at Miryam as he continued speaking. “Consider this as you think about what you want to do. You weren’t chosen by chance. You are destined to be the mate of a male of a supernatural race. Regardless of that fact, you still have your free will and can walk away from your destiny. But it won’t be without consequences. For you, and for the male that you will be leaving, will suffer.”
Nico winced at the demon’s words. They were a little harsh, but they were true.
Akira’s eyes narrowed, but there was no anger there—just confusion and worry. “Why would they suffer?”
When it was apparent Raphael wasn’t going to answer, his attention still focused intently on Miryam, Nico spoke up. “Our males can only fully shift and merge with their beast once they’ve mated with their Erossazzi–the female who completes them. The essence of their souls live inside one another. And if the female chooses not to mate, then the male will never be able to fully shift, nor will he ever be able to take a mate. He’s doomed to a lonely existence.”
“Damn,” Morgan said, her voice soft. “That’s one hell of a guilt trip.”
Raphael’s head whipped towards her, his eyes glowing as anger radiated off him. “We are not trying to guilt you into anything. We are giving you the facts. How they make you feel is on you.” His eyes narrowed a bit on the female. “And perhaps it’s a reflection of the type of female you are.”
“Raphael,” Nico snapped. “Remember we are trying to earn their trust. Snarling at them isn’t going to help our case.”
“I won’t be accused of attempting to coerce a woman into doing something she doesn’t want to,” the demon rumbled. “I may be a demon, but I have chosen a different path. I won’t have that belittled by one female’s judgment of things she doesn’t understand.”
“We’re trying to understand,” Miryam said gently. “Morgan doesn’t really have a filter, so I’ve learned, but she’s a good person. She cares what happens to us. You should show her the same grace you are expecting her to show you.”
Raphael seemed to deflate at her words, his back resting against the wall, the glow of his eyes lessening. He lowered those purple orbs to the floor. “My apologies.” His words were tight, but sincere.
Nico didn’t know what he could say to put the three females at ease, or to help them make a decision that they wouldn’t one day regret. “I don’t want you to feel trapped by this fate, because that’s what it is. Each of you has been given this gift and that is what a mating is. To be loved wholly and completely by a male who will live for you, die for you, and do it with a smile on his face. However, I will not judge you if you say no. You are the one that has to live with your decision.” He looked at each of them in turn, letting the weight of his words settle. “Consider this; do you want to go back to a life that you now know would have you settling for less than best? Because that is what you will settle for if you choose a human male to take as your mate. They will not be your perfect match. Have you ever settled for what you knewwasn’t the best option? And if the answer to that question is ‘yes’, how did it affect you in the long run?” He wanted them to think and consider all the implications. He didn’t want guilt to be the reason they chose to get the tattoos, but he also didn’t want them to leave their mates behind to a life of torment.
Nico’s eyes met Akira’s and he saw a glimmer of understanding that sent a jolt through his chest. She had regrets, he could see it clearly staring back at him. He found that he immediately wanted to remove that haunting look. But he couldn’t do that, if she chose to stay, some other male would get to earn that right. He was a shaman. They rarely found mates.
Morgan sighed, but her voice was softer. “Okay, I feel thoroughly put in my place.”
Nico’s jaw tightened. “That’s not what we were doing. We just want you to understand the stakes.”
A beat of silence, thick with things unsaid. Miryam’s voice broke through, trembling but resolute. “I think we get it. Considering how we ended up here. Females must mean a lot if Damarians are willing to abduct them. I was taken at night, walking along the street as I often did,” she said. “One minute I was getting coffee, the next—darkness. I woke up in a room with at least twenty other women. I haven’t seen my family in months. I don’t even know if they think I’m still alive.” She blinked hard, seeming to refuse to let tears fall. “For the longest time, all I wanted was to go home.” She paused.
“And now?” Raphael asked. Nico could hear the strain in his friend’s voice and noticed the clenched fists.
Miryam looked up at him. “Now, I don’t know where home is anymore. I don’t know where I belong.”
Raphael moved slowly, as if to keep from scaring the female. He crouched in front of her, his voice raw. “You’re not alone, Miryam. I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong anywhere. Demons . . . we don’t get homes. We get cages,bound by our purpose and abilities. But you—” He reached out, tentative, and when she didn’t flinch, his hand covered hers. “You get to choose. And if you choose to stay, I’ll be with you until you find your mate. I won’t let you feel lost in this new world.”
Nico could feel his friend’s pain. It was more than apparent to him that Raphael wanted Miryam, but he wouldn’t keep her from being with her mate, even if it tortured him.
Miryam’s breath caught. She looked at him, really looked, and Nico saw something pass between them—a fragile, electric connection that made the air hum.
Morgan looked away, but her voice was thick with emotion. “I apologize for my comment.” She looked at Raphael and then Nico. “It is a big choice, but honestly, I don’t have anything to go back to. I was on my own before I was taken, and fighting to make ends meet. Unless my future mate is abusive or cheats on me, pretty sure my life can’t get worse than what it was.”
Nico’s voice was gentle but firm. “No Damarian male wouldeverhurt his mate. They’d sooner slit their own throat than cause any harm to their female. And as far as being unfaithful, it’s pretty much impossible. But, again, that would cause their mate pain, therefore they’d never do it.”
Akira’s gaze was steady. “Why do you care about us, Nico? You’re not a shifter, correct? Do you have a mate? Is there a chance one of the animi could be your mate?”
He felt the question cut straight through him, exposing everything he’d tried to hide behind bravado and sarcasm. He swallowed, then answered honestly. “No, I am not a shifter. And as a shaman, having a mate is quite rare. And I care because you matter. You have value and worth and should be treated that way. When I look at you, I see someone who has been through the fire and has come out still standing strong. Someone who reminds me what it’s like to hope, even when hopeis dangerous. And because . . . the moment I saw you, I knew my life wouldn’t be the same.” His voice faltered, roughened by honesty. “I haven’t dared to hope for a mate in a very long time. But you’ve changed that.” Was he being intense? Yes. But then he was a shaman who’d lived through quite a bit of hell in his long life, and he’d never felt anything like what Akira stirred up in him. Nico wasn’t about to turn away from that until he was completely sure she belonged to someone else. Screw being careful, or worried about rejection. His life was long lived, and he was sick of living as if he was waiting for something or someone.
A flush crept up Akira’s cheeks, but she held his gaze, unflinching. “That’s a lot to lay on someone you just met.”
He smiled, small and self-deprecating. “Welcome to the Kingdom of Chaos, sweetheart. We don’t do anything halfway.”
Morgan let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob. “This is insane. We’re sitting in the back area of a dry cleaner, hiding from murderous shifters, pouring our sorry lives out to each other, and you two are flirting.”
