I had to give it to her. The look she leveled Dante with made him actually back away. She was going to kill himandenjoy it.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, André finally sighed. “We are not in your head. Hannes and I possess enhanced hearing, and Dante had his ear stuck to the door.”
Giving her one of his sinful smirks, Dante chanced moving closer to our mate once more. “I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you love me.”
Oh, the poor, stupid bastard.
For a reason that he clearly didn’t see, that only served to infuriate her more.
Natalia’s nostrils flared.
“Can we please discuss this?” I interjected, calling her attention back to me while the Beast fought against my skin, sensing danger and wanting to take over to protect me.
There was danger, alright, but not the kind he feared for me. With a grunt, I pushed him back, hating that he’d so easily taken over when her fire arose earlier. It didn’t help that my stupid ass staggered back by instinct.
I knew she’d never hurt me on purpose, it had all been an unfortunate accident… but did she know that?
Natalia’s expression softened when our eyes met once more, and the spark of remorse danced in her gaze. Taking a settling breath, she nodded and walked toward the sitting area, retaking the armchair.
“Well, I leave you all to talk about this,” the Countess announced. “I need to speak to my husband and Antoine tosee what they’ve been able to uncover about the attack and the Vampiri with fake abilities.”
She walked past us and left the room, but my attention was still glued to Natalia and the trail of wetness that glistened over her skin when she turned.
Knowing she’d cried made me want to rip into someone, preferably one of the bastards who attacked her in the boathouse. Mostly, I just wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her, make her mine, and take away the pain she was focusing on surviving right now.
Grabbing the armchair next to her, I dragged it before her and sat down while Dante and André stood at either side of me, facing her.
“Their attack didn’t turn out the way they wanted,” I explained gently. “It failed, and that’s why they took your mother.”
“I know…” she conceded, crossing both arms over her chest. “I’m still going after her.”
“They are going to use her as bait. It’s just a means to get you out of here and into their territory—wherever that is,” André explained, trying to make her see reason. “They want you to react. And they’ll try their best to be ready for you this time, which means as many of them as it takes to capture you. It’s a trap, Natalia.”
“I know that too. I’m not stupid, André.”
“I never said you?—”
“No! Of course, you didn’t call me stupid.” She smiled at him, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “You just thought I needed you to point out the painfully obvious because I couldn’t possibly make that conclusion on my own.”
“Natalia, that’s not what we are doing,” Dante intervened before things got out of control. André and Natalia hadn’t beenon the best of terms since she awoke. “We just want to help you understand the risks. If they get their hands on you?—”
“They will harvest my blood to create minions just like me that they can control, and then they’ll kill me. I know. Probably to destroy the world, or some shit like that.”
“How do you know they want to harvest your blood?” I asked, disconcerted. The only ones who knew exactly what had occurred in the boathouse before we arrived were the Viscountess and Natasha, and our mate was currently blocking her own memories from Natalia.
Blinking, she paused for a moment, seemingly taken aback. “It slipped through the fog just now,” she admitted in a whisper. “Not the whole scene, just that fact. Perhaps now that I know what happened, Natasha’s hold is loosening a bit?”
“She probably wants you to understand,” I offered reassuringly.
Nodding at the possibility, our mate seemed to search her mind.
“I only get the blink of a moment, but I can see Anastasia being restrained by Natasha’s uncle. He had her by the throat while another man, a Vampir, said they had come for Natasha’s blood, and they were going to bleed her slowly to get it… but they were not expecting my fire.”
“No.” The back of my armchair suddenly buckled, crushed by André’s hand while the rage turned his eyes red, and sunlight trembled in and out of existence outside the window.
“Absolutely not!” Dante barked. “There is no way in hell we are letting you anywhere near those?—”
“I understand the risks!” Natalia snapped, standing up to them. “The real risk is that they will torture Anastasia if I don’t save her. She was already attacked and left for dead once. She lost her wings and the chance to see her daughter, Natasha, grow safe and loved. What else does she need to sacrifice before we arewilling to risk something for her? Her life? She deserves better than that, and so does Natasha!” she roared.
