“How do Iunderstand Icelandic?” I rubbed my forehead as I felt my heart race. “Wait, howdid I even know it’s Icelandic?”
“You’re safe,sweetheart.” He settled my palm to his chest and took a deep breath. “Breathewith me.”
I squeezed myeyes shut and took a deep breath, feeling my heartbeat begin to match hisrhythm. “What do you mean by I’m your mate?”
“When you’reready, and I mean that, Lennox, whenyou’reready, we’ll make love, andI will bind you. We’ll be joined both physically and spiritually forever. It’smuch more than your human marriage and consummation ceremony, it’s somethingthat canliterallynever be torn apart.”
“But what if Idon’t feel the same way about you?” I challenged.
“You do,” hesaid, cocksure and unapologetic.
I wrinkled mynose. “What if I change my mind?”
“You won’t,love.”
“I might if youcontinue being obstinate.”
He chuckled.“I’ll be on my best behavior, then.”
“What does CauldAne mean?”
“Roughlytranslated, it means cold one. At least in Scotland,” Phin said. “We cannotsurvive in temperatures over sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, although, with theinvention of Blue Fang, that has changed.”
“What was thatlike for you?” I asked. “Being able to finally walk out into the heat?”
“At first, Ididn’t like it. It felt unnatural, which wasn’t uncommon for some of us. Now,however, it’s just part of my daily life, and I can’t imagine ever having to goback to how things were before.”
“Could thathappen?”
“If men likeyour father have their way. There’s always the risk of being driven back intothe shadows… into the cold.”
“I can’t imaginewhat it’s like for you to feel so hated.”
“Hated I canhandle, it’s the being hunted part I take issue with.” He smiled. “But I don’tfear your father anymore than I fear the heat of the sun. In the end, those whoresist change, all seem to suffer the same fate.”
“What’s that?” Iasked.
“Irrelevance.”
I nodded inagreement. “You said in Scotland Cauld Ane roughly translates. What do youmean?”
“There is theoriginal Kalt Einn, in Iceland. Their king, Kaspar, still reigns there, and hisdaughter is Liberty.”
I gasped.“Liam’s mate, Liberty?”
Phineas nodded.“One in the same.”
“Will you tellme now why they’re unbound?”
He grimaced.“It’s because of Blue Fang. It’s making him miserable.”
“Are you sayingthat Blue Fang could make me resist you?”
“Fuck,” hebreathed out. “Ah, no, it doesn’t work on humans.”
I smirked. “Youcan’t lie to me, remember?”
He let out aseries of curses. At least, I think they were curses, but they were in alanguage I didn’t recognize. Definitely not English, and I’m pretty sure itwasn’t Icelandic, since I was starting to understand some of that.
