“If you can get your heads out of your asses, you’ll see how amazing this could be. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? How many people actually get a chance like this, to meet their soulmate? And you’re going to piss on that gift…for what? So all three of you can continue to be miserable because it’s what you’re used to and change is scary?”
Ares slams back the rest of the jar before growling, “You’re overcomplicating this whole thing. Stop it.”
‘Stop it’, he says. My gods, why did I never think of that before? I’m cured. Goodbye, anxiety, it’s been real.
I absorb their words in pensive silence, not sure what to say. I’ve got Rheyas on one shoulder shining a light on every insecurity, and Ares and Ozzy on the other…also telling me I’m a dumbass that’s fucking everything up. It’s an onslaught of angles to think about, everyone in the room making a convincing argument. So I just shut down, overwhelmed.
Work was exhausting, home is exhausting, and so are the people in it. Picking up the trash bag, I get back to work picking up the mess, using the excuse to keep my hands busy and not have to look at anyone for a little while. I need time to mull everything over, to overanalyze their words before finally putting them in a place that I can handle.
“Where are you from?” Ares asks Rheyas, and I keep an ear on their conversation, gleaning anything that I can.
He appeared out of nowhere, and he and Rel have history, however brief. Despite the fact that he saved her life and I never would have crossed paths with her if not for him, it’s impossible not to hate him at least a little.
“Few hours east of here,” comes his gruff, succinct reply.
Ares’ intrigue is clear in his voice, his curiosity piqued. “I didn’t know people lived that deep into the wilds.”
“They don’t.” His harsh tone has a ring of finality to it that has me looking up, only to see Ares’ orange eyes alight with intrigue.
Between me, Rin, and the lamppost, Ares was on the brink of going feral when Osiris disappeared, Cole the only thing that held him back from venturing off into the wilderness permanently. But it all ended up working out, Ozzy returning with their mate, the three of them abducting me from the city to fix the annoying ocelot that couldn’t shift back, and me moving out here permanently, which led to me finding my mate. Everything’s connected, scripted like we’re mere chess pieces as the gods play their games to orchestrate our lives.
Turning to face Osiris, Ares shrugs a single shoulder. “I don’t hate the guy.” Seeing as they have a pack link and can speak telepathically, he has to be saying it out loud for a reason.
Ozzy wavers his hand back and forth. “Eh, I’m not sold. I’m betting he’ll disappear before Rel wakes up. She looked pretty upset before she went to bed, and nothing good comes from going to bed angry. She might dump both of their asses and set out on her own after this.”
A warning sound rumbles from Rheyas’ chest.
Ares nods sagely, clapping his brother on the shoulder before starting for the busted front door. “Nah, it’ll be fine. Rhey here will pick out a fitting male and retreat back from whence he came. He’ll never have to worry if the mate he picked out for her actually lived up to his expectations, if she’s alive or dead, if he beats her behind closed doors. He and Ian can just go back to their sad little lives, living in blissful ignorance until they die alone. Maybe Rel will even invite them to her baby shower.”
Biting my tongue, I glare at the two of them, aware of what they’re trying to do. And fuck those guys, because their jabs hit their marks, leaving a twisting in my gut.
Rapidly, I picture her covered in bruises, flinching beside whatever gladiator-sized bastardRheyasdeems strong enough for her. See her pregnant, and then clutching a stranger’s child. And all the while, her lips are pressed into a thin line in my visions, simply enduring the life she was thrust into, trying to make the best of it because she didn’t have any better options.
“I hate you two.”
They wear matching grins as they stride out of my house, leaving me alone with someone that wants to tear me limb from limb. Ozzy salutes me with a chuckle. “Then we’re finally even, mage. Good luck.”
Fifteen
Rheyas
‘Never have to worry if the mate he picked out for her actually lived up to his expectations, if she’s alive or dead, if he beats her behind closed doors.’
This motherfucker. He’s completely transparent about what he’s trying to do, but I can’t ignore the images his words conjure. My skin prickles as my baser half paces beneath the surface, rising in challenge to his words.
My mate, battered and bruised while I sleep the rest of winter away, unaware of her suffering. I may not be good enough for her, but I’ll be damned if any man raises a hand to her. Whoever stands by her side must be worthy of the position, will appreciate the honor and cherish her as she deserves. Anything less will have their head severed from their body.
If you actually want her to be happy, quit thinking about yourselves and try thinking about her.
I am thinking about her. Hell, I haven’t stopped since the day I hauled her from the river, skin tinted blue and absolutely fucking terrified when I couldn’t hear her heartbeat, as I pounded her chest with desperation until she coughed up lungfuls of water. Even with as muted as her scent was that day, I knew. I knew she had the power to utterly destroy me, to cause my life to implode simply by knowing she existed.
I want her to have everything, and I hate myself for not being able to provide it. I look back at my memories of her shivering in my cave with disdain, grit my teeth to the tune of her stomach rumbling with hunger that I couldn’t assuage.
I picture her rosy cheeks as she looks at me with confusion and subsequent hatred, knowing I couldn’t bring myself to kneel at her feet and beg her to stay with a man that didn’t deserve her.
“So…what now?” the mage asks, and I bare my teeth at him in annoyance.
“Now, we wait for her to heal.”
