And now she knew he’d been lying to her.
He left, sourness building in his throat. Putting more distance between them made his decision easier to deal with. The fire in his own veins congealed into cold guilt.
Winter sun, she’d left marks on him. Perfect crescent moons where her nails had dug into his skin. Claiming him.
He gritted his teeth and pulled his hand away from the marks. He had made the right choice. Theonlychoice. Sleepingwith Francine, accepting her body, was the first step towards accepting her soul. It would cement the bond between them. They would become, not two fate-ridden strangers drawn to one another, but two halves of the same whole. The bond between them would be sacred. An inviolate trust.
He would die before he violated their bond in any way.
That was the plan.
20
Francine
Lionesses were meant to work together, weren’t they? Find prey together. Hunt together. That must be why her alliance with Eloise felt so right.
Who was she kidding? She felt sick, in a deep, unnerving way she never had before.
Even in those first days after the Irina Mathers incident, when she thought she’d lost her inner lioness forever.
Her lioness was here now, itching beneath her skin. Thank god. If it had been as silent as it was the last few months, she might think—she might think—
I’m doing the wrong thing.
She stared at herself in the mirror as she got ready. The marks from Julian’s claws were gone, as though they never existed. Which was a good thing, and she pushed aside the senseless pang of regret as she checked over her unmarked skin.
Her eyes were sunk behind dark shadows, almost as though all the hours she spent staring at the ceiling didn’t countas sleep. Julian was right; she could still smell the sourness of her own fear.
And him.
It wasn’t only for Eloise that she’d ordered him to wrap himself around her. Today, and however many more todays there were until this was over, she needed any extra strength she could find.
And Julian’s scent on her skin gave her that strength.
She sighed at herself, impatient. She didn’t smell like sex, but it would have to do.
Julian was waiting in the lounge. His hooded eyes tracked her, and something hummed beneath her skin at the memory of being in his arms.
How absolutely fucking typical, that he still made her feel exhilarated and comforted in the same breath, even now she knew he’d been lying to her.
Julian had known the whole time that his family weren’t the true targets. He’d known they were closing in on a creature that could steal shifters’ inner animals away.
Their eyes met. Oh, yes. He knew exactly what she was thinking.
*Is there anything else I should know?*she asked.
Something flickered behind his eyes. Guilt? Frustration surged inside her. She didn’t want his guilt, she wanted—she wanted—
She wanted what she was trying to prove to Eloise that she was. Someone she could trust.
All while she was lying to him, too.
*Yes,*he said, and why the hell did his thoughts need to feel like that? Like home and adventure and everything that hurt. *It’s difficult to know with certainty without shifting, but I believe my dragon will be healed enough for us to leave this ship in two more days.*
Her breath caught in her throat. Two days. *That’s cutting it fine for when Elly thinks she’ll get there.*
*We’ll have time—*
