Her face heated at his sarcasm, as well as the reminder of her time with Logan. “I won’t let you kill him.” The words burst out of her before she could stop them.
“You can’t stop me,” Niall said quietly. “Oh, you’re good, but I’m better. Much.”
It was true. Niall could jump dimensions far easier than most Fae, maybe all of them. And if Logan underwent the ritual, he’d be weakened in the other dimensions, especially since he couldn’t teleport yet. The learning curve might kill him, even without Niall’s help. “Why won’t you listen to me?” she asked, her heart bleeding for the losses to come.
“Because you’re not thinking with your head.” He moved away from the door, striding toward her. “It was a mistake not to mate you earlier, and I’ll probably pay for it many times over.” Reaching her, he pushed a strand of hair off her shoulder.
She took a step back at the intimate gesture. “My answer is no.”
“I didn’t ask you a question.” He kept his stance sure. “I regret not being able to spend time with you this last year as I’d hoped, but the year is up.”
How could she get through to him? He was handsome and smart. Driven. Even though they disagreed, he was acting on his convictions. “Don’t you want to fall in love? Build a life with somebody, even if it turns out to be a short one?” If there wasn’t much time, she wanted to be happy during it. Logan’s hard face and bright eyes flashed through her mind. He didn’t smile enough. She could get him to smile more. “Don’t you deserve happiness, Niall?”
“Yes.” He slid his hand into her hair and cupped her head. “I want you. Have for years.” He was warm, but not nearly as warm as Logan Kyllwood. “Now you’re going to do your duty. I promise it won’t be unpleasant.”
The wrong man was holding her.
“My duty isn’t with you.” She moved to break away, and he tightened his hold. Her heart raced with a sick panic. “Let go.”
He yanked her toward him and covered her mouth, his kiss brutal. She struggled, fighting his hold, her mind frozen with the thought that this couldn’t be happening. He shoved his tongue into her mouth, and her jaw ached from the pressure. She pushed him with both hands. The jerk pulled her closer and tackled her to the floor.
She kicked out, trying to draw on the energy around her to teleport.
“You can’t,” he snapped, pulling away, his body pinning her. “Your demon isn’t the only one who can stop a teleporting.” Niall’s face turned a raw red, his eyes an angry, deep yellow. “Didn’t know that, did you?”
“No,” she gasped, shaking her head to avoid his.
Logan’s face swam in front of her eyes, and she calmed. She closed her eyes, breathed deep, then arched up. Kicking, she hit Niall in the hips and threw him over her head.
Then she rolled, coming up by the door. “Guess those self-defense lessons were a good idea after all,” she snapped.
He stood, fury crossing his face. Then he lunged.
She teleported before he reached her, grabbing the universe with both hands and sailing through it. Landing right back in the Seven’s safe house, she rolled and jumped to her feet where Logan, Sam, and Garrett watched her, all having leapt to fighting stances.
She grabbed her chest and panted, trying to draw in enough air to be able to speak clearly. “Logan. We have to mate. Now.”
Chapter 34
Relief and fury slammed into Logan so quickly he froze in place. Mercy was safe, and she was right in front of him. He didn’t trust himself to touch her at the moment. Oh, they were going to get some things straight, and right now.
She rubbed her mouth and looked around, her eyes wide. Her white shirt was disheveled, but her light jeans looked all right. Was her mouth swollen?
Logan moved then, taking her hands. The rioting in his head finally abated now that she was safe and close enough to keep that way. He didn’t want to tase her, but this teleporting away from him would stop now. “What happened?”
“Nothing. Argument with Niall,” she said, her pulse way too fast in her wrist.
Logan settled and calmed his face while the anger continued to flow inside him with the force of a volcano about to erupt. “He hurt you?”
“No.” Her bottom lip was red. Had Niall forced a kiss on her?
Logan ran his fingertip over her heated mouth. “Right now. Tell me what happened.” He wasn’t letting her go until she did. If he didn’t know the problem, he couldn’t fix it.
She huffed out a breath. “He’s doing his duty, Logan. I don’t agree with it, but his motives are pure.” Her body was still shaking as she came down from the adrenaline rush. When Logan didn’t release her, she sighed. “Fine. Niall said we were going to mate, grabbed me, and kissed me. I threw him over my head and teleported here.”
An instant fury grabbed Logan around the throat, but he kept his hold gentle and his expression calm. She was fragile, and he wouldn’t allow himself to frighten her. “You threw him over your head?” How did that make sense?
She shuffled her feet, and her gaze dropped to his chest. “He may have knocked me down first.”
