His arms wrapped around me and held me for a few precious seconds before I pulled away, turning to my uncle.
“I’m so sorry.”
Kade smiled gently, giving me a quick hug. “It’s alright, lass. You’ll soon learn to control your abilities.”
“God, I hope so.”
He grinned. “Come on. I think we’ve done enough to deserve a whisky.”
He made sure all the fire was out, then we headed back to the castle as a group. Arric stuck close to my side as we walked, but we didn’t touch.
I did not like this one bit, but I had no say in it until we could be bound. He still didn’t fully understand.
Once back at the castle, my mother spirited me away, forcing me to eat, which was her way of making sure I was okay. I let her fussing wash over me, staying close to her as the night wore on.
Sometimes, you just needed your mummy.
Grace MacMillan, Max’s mate, was sitting at the island, her head bowed over her phone, showing Charlotte something that was making both of them laugh.
“Oh my god, that girl is so weird,” Charlotte said, and smiled at me. “Show Isla.”
Grace slid her phone over to me and pressed the play button. It was a GlibGlob video of Melody Morgan, arguably the most famous pop star in the world, doing some weird pole dance for charity.
“At least it’s for charity?” I said as more of a question, and chuckled.
“Sure,” Grace replied. “We’ll go with that.”
I grinned sitting on the barstool next to Charlotte. She slid my hair off my shoulder and cupped my cheek. “How ya doin’, Isla Persephone?”
“That’s a loaded question, Auntie.”
She smiled gently. “You need to be kinder to your mate.”
“He needs to be kinder to me.”
“Well, here’s the rub, baby girl. He doesn’t understand what’s going on. You’ve had twenty-five years to figure it out. Not to mention, a large family who loves you.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I know. I really do. It’s just that he gets so angry and when he lashes out, he freaks me the hell out.”
Grace reached over and squeezed my arm. “He will never hurt you, you know that, right?”
I settled my head in my palm. “How can you be sure?”
“Because even though he doesn’t know you’re mates, his heart’s already turning toward you. It would be impossible for him to do so. Not impossible for him to be an asshole, but impossible for him to hurt you.”
“She would know, honey, she’s mated to Max,” Charlotte said.
Before Grace had met Max, he’d been the biggest rock star in the world, with an ego to match. She’d come along and softened him, which everyone apparently appreciated. All of this was before my time, of course, so Max was just my dad’s best friend who I’d adored forever.
“All I’m saying is try not to let him push your buttons,” Grace continued. “He’s really not trying to… he’s just a ball of confusion and emotions right now, and you need to guide him through it.”
“Okay,” I breathed out. “I’ll try to be more patient.”
Charlotte grinned, giving me a gentle hug. “There’s my girl.”
Mum slid a sandwich toward me and smiled. “Super proud of you, baby girl.”
I waved my hand toward Charlotte and Grace. “You planned this, huh?”
