“You erased her family from her mind.” Wayde McDonald asserted. “And now you keep her behind your walls. You serve a mentalist. Has he taken your thoughts, too?”
“If she were trapped, we wouldn’t be here,” I said calmly. In my head, I gutted him slowly—one organ at a time.
“If she’s free of mind, then she’s free for suitors,” Wayde grinned. “Your gaze says these are her suitors, but the Lawson has no interest, and the Tate’s under contract. I expect our Intentions answered within the day. Thank you, Commander.”
He waved his hand, dismissing me like the slave I’d been.
My anger boiled. Instead of striking out, I turned like the good soldier I’d become.
‘I should have called her mine, if only to keep the wolves at bay.’I spat through my link with my lover.
My lover’s horse clattered to a stop. Its hooves echoed on the harsh stone of The Mile.
‘We can’t. Not until we show the world her mind is her own,’Xan responded.
I hated that he was right, but the McDonald’s accusations rang in my ears. Xan had the power to do everything he was accused of, but he would never abuse it like that. Never.
My lover dismounted without glancing at Quinn, surveying The Mile like he already owned it. Rich leathers, fine silks, and gold replaced his trainee uniform. Instead of a mop of hair bouncing around his ears, gel slicked back the baby blue, making it shine as brightly as his eyes. Even the air shifted. He wasn’t just powerful—he was inevitable.
While everyone’s attention was drawn to him, I surrounded Quinn and her friends with my best enforcers. The group slipped back toward our walls while I stepped into my lover’s shadow to salvage what wecould of the situation. Even victory felt like loss when her safety was the only thing that mattered.
Chapter 27
Rowan
I’dneversleptinthe same bed as another man before.
Which made lying on two mattresses pushed together on Cayden’s dorm room floor, with Quinn between us, feel so fucking weird.
I rolled onto my back, careful not to disturb Quinn, who was using my arm as a pillow. The two mattresses had a crack down the middle, which Quinn had promptly fallen into before wiggling out and edging toward Cayden instead of me. Too tired to overthink her reaction last night, I woke with her curled into my bare chest.
She chose me. My heart thumped.
Unlike Quinn’s tower room across Grady Hall, Cayden’s had one small window showing the barest hints of sunrise. It was square and modest, but had an en suite. Purple and silver accented the off-white walls, though he hadn’t added any personal touches.
It was much nicer than the room I shared with Joe in the mixed dorms. And Cayden had it to himself, which, at first, made me jealous.
But now that I lay here overthinking, I wasn’t so sure anymore. Yes, my roommate Joe’s farts could gas out an army, and with him and Brit getting hot and heavy, I found myself locked out a few more times than I’d like. But Joe and I were tight. We had friends outside of each other, which meant more friends by extension.
Cayden had no one but Quinn. The way he stood against his family, keeping her behind him, and lying to them proved it.
I turned my head.
Quinn and Cayden faced each other, still deeply asleep with their fingers linked. I’d never felt the urge to protect another man before. But Cayden’s life suddenly felt… isolated.
If the Architect kicked me out of his family, I’d go back to my dad and brothers. We’d tussle and have a big family dinner in our old, crumbling dining room. My oldest brother would already have some crazy revenge plan against the Architect, no matter what the cost. To me, that’s what family did.
Quinn came from a past where she’d been broken and woke up in the future with no one. Not even a basic understanding of life. I didn’t know what Cayden went through, but it sounded like he lost a child, his faith, and his family. I couldn’t even picture myself in the same situation.
The two were lost souls, and I didn’t want to see either of them hurt again.
The first rays of the sun peeked through the window. Quinn stretched and yawned. We’d wait to get her to the washroom once we were back at the castle, so Cayden’s sobriety rune could do its thing. Like me, she should be hangover-free.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked.
Quinn snuggled further into me, back to my chest, and disappeared under the blanket. “Five more minutes.”
“Sleep as long as you want, love,” Cayden said.
