Sebastian held his ground. Idiot vampire.
“Tell me, Sebastian, at what point is the risk worth it? When someone I thought I loved betrayed me for the promise of financial gain? Or was it when my grandmother pimped me out to the factions?” I tapped my chin as I circled him. “Could it have been a turning point when Eloise ordered Michael to tie me to a metal floor, gut me, and pour acid down my throat? No? There won’t be a next time with her. If she doesn’t get what she wants from me, I will die. So don’t presume to know what lengths I willgo to end this woman. She might be blood, but she burned that bond when she betrayed me for power.”
Sebastian swallowed hard.That’s what I thought.I spread my arms wide. “Unless anyone else wants to weigh in on how I handle my trauma, I’m going to bed.” Hudson took a hesitant step toward me, and I pointed at him, stopping him in his tracks. “If you value your life, you will give me some breathing space tonight.”
His jaw ticced.Tough shit, Principal. I am not a weak woman. It’s time you understood who you’ve tied yourself to.Boundaries needed to be set, and I wouldn’t tolerate people calling me stupid without considering the whole picture. Was the deal ill advised? Perhaps. But I would never be at the mercy of anyone again; not friendship, not blood ties, and not even my heart.
The inky blackexpanse of sky surrounded me, the stars my guiding light as my untethered soul soared through it. Here I was whole, the missing fragments of my psyche slotting back into place. My fingers brushed through the cool misty puffs of clouds, joy filling my heart as I dipped and spun, a peaceful smile spreading across my face. Who needed the chaos of life, when death was an intoxicating retreat you never wanted to leave?
“Stay with us,” a tinkling feminine voice coaxed. “There’s no pain here. You can be free.”
Free? That sounded tempting. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt that.
“Cora, snap out of it,” a snarling woman’s voice said. It was my voice, but also not.
I stole the pieces of my soul to rebuild my world, one beautiful star at a time.
“Mate,” my inner voice snapped. No. No mate, no worries, no pressure, no pain, just no.
Soft warm fur caressed my fingers, chasing away the comforting clouds. Sandalwood and spice blanketed the scent of night-blooming flowers. I breathed it in. I was air and light, while he was earth and ground.
My eyes snapped open. A huge hot tongue swiped my cheek and over my ear. I rolled onto my side, coming face to face with Keverin. Except it wasn’t just Keverin; it was also Hudson. He hadn’t separated, and I could see the apology burning in his gaze.
“I’m still angry with you,” I whispered.
A mournful groan rumbled in his chest. I threaded my fingers into his fur. “Don’t give up on me,” I pleaded. “I know I don’t always get it right, that I sometimes act before I think.”
He blinked, and I scooted closer, burying my head against his neck and letting my first tear fall. They came in a sudden wave, and my chest ached as I sobbed. Muscular human arms encased me, holding me tighter. He held me while my world fractured into a thousand pieces. He didn’t utter words of comfort or belittle my pain, just held me.
Hudson showed up when I pushed him away. He risked my wrath, because he felt my pain. When I was at risk of letting go, he came. How could such a decent man love such a broken woman? Against the odds, I’d met my perfect match. No matter how hard I pushed him away, he would always be there. Something heavy lifted from my chest, but what was revealed made me shudder. I was not okay. I hadn’t been okay for some time, and if I had any chance of beating my grandmother, thenI needed to be at one hundred and ten percent. Tomorrow, I would stop hiding. Tomorrow, I was going to see my therapist and heal.
I fell back into a dreamless sleep, wrapped inside a man that had become my entire world.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
You can’t run from your nightmares—they aren’t bound by the same laws as you and I.
It was a well known and documented fact that men believed they were superior in certain things. Finding the correct batteries for remotes, wallpapering, recycling, and parallel parking.
It was our job as women to let them believe these things, meaning that we were relieved of completing these tasks. They thought they were asserting their male prowess, but we knew it allowed us extra time in the bath. But this? Something that has been commonplace since the 1970s? This was the world’s biggest joke.
“If you place the plates too close together, then the water can’t get to them,” Hudson coached me and Rebecca like we’d never successfully loaded a dishwasher.
“Huh, never thought of that,” Rebecca said, looking like an ethereal princess in a floaty lemon sundress and white cardigan. I shot her a look, and she winked at me.
Dave grabbed the cutlery rack and moved the knives, forks, spoons around. “Also, make sure you arrange these handle-side down and organize them by utensil for ease of unloading.”
“Wow, that’s genius,” I responded. They were both utterly clueless as they schooled us, two women who had been running a guest house for years on domestic chores.
My wards gripped my mind. Pushing against them, I winced.What the hell?They released with a pop, and I jerked to my feet.
“What was that?” Rebecca asked. She felt it too? Oh, that couldn’t be good.
I hurried out of the kitchen with the rest of them on my tail. My front door swung open, and Aunt Dayna stepped through. Her honey-blonde hair was swept up behind a pink and silver scarf.
She grinned at me. “Sorry I took so long. I decided I should probably move here while we tackle your therapy.”
“This is your therapist?” Hudson asked as he came to stand next to me.
