“Cut this shit,” I growled. “I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s no reason I’d go out alone with her. I need to call her father anyway.” But didn’t I already do that?
“That’s not all,” Garrett said gently, a tone he had never taken with me before.
I snorted. “Did she make a pass at me?” Rachel had made no secret about wanting me back in her life. I needed to get her out of the Keep before she became a bigger issue than she was now.
Simone cleared her throat. “Evie found you there.”
I stilled. “Shit. She’s bound to be pissed.” I fished around in my pocket and dug out my cellphone. “I’ll call her and explain.”
“Explain what?” Garrett asked. “You broke up with her.” He didn’t say it loud, but his face added on to that sentence with,you fucking idiot.
The phone slipped from my fingers. “I didwhat?”
Simone nodded. “You told Evie her blood was tainted.”
I froze. “If this is your idea of a joke,” I snarled, “I’d rethink this immediately.”
My head pounded, my blood a heartbeat in my temple. Simone and Garrett’s faces swam in my vision.
“Her mother was there,” Simone went on as if there was still a lot more to tell. Dread settled into my bones. This might not be fixable. Why in the hell would I break up with Evie when I fought so hard to claim her? I pressed my thumb against the space between my brows, attempting to calm the raging headache I had.
Simone added after a brief pause, “She tossed Rachel through the restaurant wall. The shifter is in the infirmary with serious injuries.” A smile with too many teeth crossed her face. “Again.”
My eyebrows lifted. “She’s lucky she isn’t dead.”
“Evie more than likely saved that miserable bitch’s life.” Her words were a snarl. My Omega stared at me like she’d never seen me before and now that she did, she didn’t much like what she saw.
The fog was still there inside my head, the pounding behind my eyes getting worse. “Are you sure I did all of this, and someone isn’t messing with you?”
“I wish,” Simone said softly. “Evie called me earlier.”
I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. “Okay. I’ll go over there and fix things right now.”
Garrett and Simone exchanged another look.
“Evie has asked me to let you know her wards have been rekeyed. She said if she sees you on her private property she will respond with lethal force.”
Goddammit. “Then I’ll go to her shop.”
Simone cleared her throat. “Her mother and father also dropped by before you arrived home.”
Garrett’s look somehow managed to be sympathetic and furious. “The King of the Fae and the Banshee Queen have claimed her shop as fae property.”
My brow furrowed. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“If you violate the property boundaries, you will be marked for death. Any fae with enough power will see that mark and hunt you to the ends of the earth for the insult you’ve given to their heir.”
“What the fuck.” I swore viciously. “I can’t even pass by her shop without violating that order?”
Garrett’s smile was unamused. “The mark will trigger if you touch her shop’s door. They wished to let me know you’ve been given some grace as Evie’s former fiancé, and you will be allowed to pass by her shop on your way to other places.”
“This is insane,” I muttered. “How the hell am I supposed to fix this?”
“You aren’t supposed to,” Simone said gently. “You humiliated your fiancée in public. Evie’s phone call was brief and to the point. Any ties to her are to be severed immediately.”
Garrett sighed. “That’s bad enough, but you also humiliated the heir to the fae throne and said her blood was tainted and that she wasn’t good enough to become your wife. There were other fae in that restaurant—creatures who appeared human who, unfortunately for you, have excellent hearing. The only reason they didn’t finish Rachel off was because they overheard Evie asking her mother to leave her be.”
Simone sank into one of the chairs. “Your actions were unforgivable, but even in the face of that horrific incident, Evie chose to walk away, ensuring you would not be entangled in a war for any harm that came to Rachel. And Rachel is intelligent enough to know Evie did her a solid favor.” Her smile was not friendly. “I took the liberty of informing the shifter exactly who Evie was related to when she returned to the Keep with those injuries raging about revenge.”
