Orion plops his ass back down in his chair. He swipes his drink off the table, the glass scraping against the worn wood, and takes a long swig. The smirk on his face says he doesn't give two shits about Gideon's warning.
I can't help but admire the guy's balls, even if I want to punch him in his smug face. He's got that easy confidence from knowing he can handle whatever comes his way.
"Look, I know you're all bursting with questions," Dani says, her voice collected despite our simmering tension. "Let's address the elephant in the room—or should I say, the Sea Witch in the ocean."
I feel a flicker of dread at her words, a cold, creeping fear that crawls up my spine and settles in the pit of my stomach. But I force myself to listen, to focus on her words even as the alcohol and the lust and the fucking relief of having her back cloud my mind.
She tells us everything about Calypso's demands, the Siren's Lyre, and the impossible task ahead of us. With every word, I feel myself sobering up, the haze of drunkenness fading away to be replaced by a cold, brutal clarity.
"She just let you go?" I ask, my voice rough and skeptical. "Just like that?"
Dani nods, her eyes meeting mine. "For now," she says softly. "I have to hold up my end of the bargain."
I feel a prickling sense of unease run down my spine that has nothing to do with the alcohol still coursing through my system. Because if Calypso is willing to let Dani go, even temporarily...
Then there's no telling what kind of fucked up game she's playing or what kind of danger my mate might be walking into when the time comes.
"Wait, what bargain?" I ask, my voice low and rough.
Dani holds up her wrist and shows us all a bracelet that looks like a bunch of seashells. "Coral Pact," she says as if that explains everything.
Lucian, ever the fucking smart ass who never knows when to shut the fuck up, "Oh yeah, Little Miss Sunshine here made a deal with the sea-bitch herself, didn't you, Honey Pot? To get this magical Lyre thingy— All to save my magnificent, shapely ass from having my heart ripped out and used as a fucking paperweight. Because you're head over fins in love with me, admit it. I mean, who wouldn't be?" he gestures dramatically to himself. "I've got a feeling we're about to be in deeper shit than a whale's colonoscopy."
A growl builds in my throat, my hands squeezing Dani's hip. "She's not a fuckingHoney Pot," I snarl, my eyes narrowing as I glare at my brother. "Stop calling her that."
Memory loss or not, this fucker needs to learn his goddamn place.
But Lucian grins, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Ooh, did I hit a nerve, tough guy?" he taunts. "Struck too close to home? Because... damn," he licks his lips obscenely, "she tastes like fucking heaven, doesn't she? Sweet, like honey—addictive, better than any blood we've ever had. What's wrong, big guy? Pissed that I got a taste of your girl? Or just pissed that I can describe her better than you can?"
The table goes dead silent. Erik slowly rises from his chair, bracing for the shitstorm that's about to go down. Gideon and Orion swipe their mugs off the table and scoot back, their chairs screeching across the floor.
It hits me like a goddamn sledgehammer. The realization that Lucian would've needed Dani's blood to cross over with her. And from the way he's talking, the fucker took it straight from the source.
And I fucking snap!
Rhyland
32
Ifeel Dani stiffen in my lap, her eyes wide with shock and worry. Before she can say anything, my fangs snap out; she's on her feet, scrambling away, as I stand, chair clattering to the floor behind me as I lunge across the table.
I grab Lucian by the front of his shirt, hauling him up until we're nose to nose. "Listen to me, you little shit," I snarl, my voice low and deadly. "Dani is mine. My mate, my love, my fucking reason for living. You don't get to talk about her like you know her—like she's yours. You understand me, you piece of shit? And if you even think about laying another finger on her, I will rip your fucking arm off and beat you to death with it."
Lucian's eyes widen momentarily, like he just realized he's poked a particularly pissed-off bear with a very short stick. A flicker of 'oh shit' crosses his face before he slaps on a smirk. "Whoa there, Hulk, let's not go all 'roid rage on me," he quips, despite the underlying hint of 'please don't fucking kill me.' "Take it easy, man. Breathe in, breathe out, do some fucking yoga or whatever it is you do to keep from tearing people's heads off."
But I can see the lie in his eyes, the hunger and the fucking possessiveness that mirrors my own. And I know, in this moment, that this is far from over.
Lucian may have forgotten who he is and the bond that ties Dani to me, but I sure as hell haven't.
And I will fight to my last fucking breath to keep her by my side, where she belongs.
Dani rushes up, her hand on my arm, "Alright, boys, that's enough! This macho pissing contest needs to end before someone loses an eye—or worse, ruin my dress." She turns to Lucian, fixing him with her best 'don't-test-me' glare. "Lucian, zip it before I find a creative way to make you." Then, she grabs my arm, tugging metowards her. "And you, Fangzilla, you're coming with me. We need to chat briefly before you decide to redecorate Lucian's face."
Stepping outside into the tropical, cool night air, I can't stop pacing, my body thrumming with anger and frustration. "He fucking bit you?" I snarl, my voice low and rough.
Dani flinches momentarily, her eyes wide and wary as she watches me. "Yes—but he didn't know—"
"I don't give a flying fuck if he didn't know or not," I snap, cutting her off before she can even finish the excuse. I'm in her face in an instant, my eyes blazing with a possessive rage that threatens to consume me. I know I'm coming off hot and intense, but I can't help it. The thought of another man's fangs sinking into her flesh, of his lips on her skin... it's enough to make my blood boil.
