Page 3 of Of Truths & Bonds


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“Why?” Suspicion crept through my veins as I stared down at her. “Why would you do this?”

Her brown eyes met mine, hardened and flickering towards the coral colour of her aura. Something was unsettling her.

“I have never liked Hunter,” Bexley said, voice low and deadly. “He’s always treated my sister like shit and she’s put up with more than she needs to or deserved. I won’t let him destroy someone else.”

Whether she meant me or Quentin, I wasn’t certain, but despite my mistrust, I nodded.

Bexley released my arm. “Do you want me to tell Quentin anything?”

“Tell her—” I started, but caught Erik looking at me and changed my mind. “Tell her not to worry.”

* * *

“It was a mistake to trust her.”I seethed, dragging a brush through Tenley’s pale blonde hair.

Erik and Sloan found my only other weakness and weaponised it. The moment Bexley left us, my godchildren descended on me, uninhibited with the weight of politics and unencumbered by life and death decisions. The sharp edge of my temper dulled in order to keep them entertained.

“You don’t know that,” Sloan replied, ever the diplomat.

“It’s been hours.”

My niece turned around and frowned at me. “Pigtails,” she demanded.

“Manners, Tenley,” I replied curtly. They could get away with murder in my eyes, but Sloan and Erik had certain things they wanted to enforce, and manners were one of them.

“Pigtails,please, Uncle Gray.”

I gently directed her away from me again and parted the hair down the middle of her head. Tenley was still tiny and under her parents' watchful eyes. I was forced to be softer than my soul desired, pulling her hair up and wrapping a hair tie around the strands.

As the clock ticked through the minutes steadily, the sense of dread continued to grow until I felt I’d made the biggest mistake of listening to those around me. Erik sensed a degree of fondness from Bexley towards us, leading to his request for trust. I should have gone with my usual cynical view of beings and relied only on myself.

I shot to my feet with Tenley in my arms when there was a knock at the door. Erik was already pulling it open when I reached the entrance hall and Bexley stepped over the threshold.

“What took you so long?” I barked. “What have they been doing?”

“I didn’t see her,” Bexley told me. “Larkin was suspicious. I didn’t want to push my luck.”

A worried-looking Sloan took Tenley out of my arms. Without the calming influence that my godchildren bestowed on me, I finally unleashed my chaotic nature. Smoky tendrils shot towards Bexley at an alarming rate, wrapping around her waist and pulling her to me. One gripped her jaw and another lifted her from the ground, forcing her to look me in the eye.

“Grayson,” Erik warned me quietly. “My household is not one for force. Especially not in front of my children.”

In the distance, I heard Sloan’s footsteps retreating as she muttered softly to Tenley. I would need to apologise to my niece later for being the big, wicked uncle.

“I trusted you because Erik told me to,” I hissed. “Don’t make me regret it, Bexley, because I will make your existence a nightmare.”

“I pity her,” Bexley spat back. “Imagine being bound to the likes of you.”

“Enough!” Erik shouted. “Put her down and let’s hear what she has to say.”

Grudgingly, I lowered her to the ground, but refused to remove my aura from around her.

“Talk!” I commanded.

“Larkin didn’t want her at the house,” Bexley explained. “You know what she’s like.”

“Less than accommodating unless it benefits her,” I replied. “Tough shit because they’re stuck with her.”

“They aren’t.”