“I won’t hurt you,” I say, even as the darkness prickles at my fingers.
“Get her back!” someone snaps.
“That’s enough,” Anatha barks. “That title is from old stories…”
“Old stories?” A sharp voice cuts in. “We almost drank her blood!”
It’s too much. The noise. The blame. The fear. All of it is closing in.
My vision sharpens. No, not now. Not here. I drop my eyes, trying to hide their glow.
“Look at her!” Sable calls out. “Her hands. See? It’s already starting.”
I don’t need to look. I can feel the shadows crawling up my arms, answering every terrified voice around me.
“She’s dangerous.”
I jerk my head up.
Her smile is sharp enough to draw blood. For a split second, the sweetness drops when her slit pupils lock onto me. But it snaps into place the moment she turns to face the others. “It’s not safe for us to have her here.”
The darkness is gnawing at me, trying to get out. My fingers slip into my pocket, brushing the cool steel I shouldn’t want. I need to let it out. It’s eating at me. I can’t handle it.
I push to my feet, running from the tent before I hurt someone. Anatha says something behind me, my name maybe. But it barely reaches me.
Only one voice does.
“You don’t belong here, and you definitely don’t belong with ZeeZee.”
CHAPTER 14
Zarreth
The bond spikes hard enough to stop me mid-stride.Panic.
I trace without thinking, landing outside one of the long tents. Females are yelling. My mother is calling for Frankie.
The flap bursts open. My mate stumbles out, eyes wild and glowing. Her breath is too fast. Shadows cling to her as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out that fucking knife.
She runs, but I catch her, one hand locking around her wrist. “Give it to me.” I easily remove the blade from her grip and slip it into my pocket.
“Let go!” Her voice tears out of her as she swings with her free hand, wild and desperate. She hits my shoulder, then my chest.
A cold spike of fury slices through me. Who the fuck pushed her to this? Who scared her enough to make her reach for her knife? I manage to push down my anger for now. Frankie needs me, but I will make them pay.
“Frankie.”
She hits me again. This time across my jaw. She jerks and twists, desperate to get free, but I close my arms around her and hold on. “You’re safe. I have you.”
Her fight leaves almost instantly, and her whole body leans into me. She’s shaking hard enough I can feel it through my ribs. I tighten my arms around her. “Let it out,” I whisper. And she does. She sobs, her forehead pressing into my chest while I hold her.
Footsteps rush toward us. My mother stops at my side. She reaches for Frankie, but pulls back when she sees how tightly she’s clinging to me. “Is she hurt?”
“No.” She curls into me trying to hide inside my chest. “Just overwhelmed.”
Beleth touches my mother’s arm. “She’ll be alright. Why don’t you stay with me tonight? Let him take care of her.”
My hand runs up and down her back as they walk away. Her shaking eases as she pulls in a rough inhale. I tilt her chin up with my thumb. She looks wrecked. Eyes wet. Nose red. Shadows swirling around her arms. “I’ve got you.”
