A witch.
Somewhere in this territory, in a small human town none of us has ever heard of, behind some unremarkable door, there might be one woman who can pull this curse off my collarbone and out of my blood. She has to be found. In a region that runs hundreds of miles.
A needle. In a haystack. We cannot afford to waste any time.
My eyes close, and I take a deep breath.
I am not giving up.
Chapter Twenty
Lucas
Sienna is always full of life. Even when she is angry with me, or giving me the cold shoulder, there’s a certain feistiness to her. Today, though, as she looks out the window of my bedroom, it’s missing. Her arms are wrapped around her stomach, and her gaze is distant.
It bothers me. It bothers me greatly.
I don’t know how to fix things with her. Her unhappiness over the mate bond is painful for me. I know I messed things up and have hurt her pride deeply. It’s going to take time. But seeing her silently miserable is killing me.
“Sienna.”
She looks over her shoulder at me.
“We need to talk.”
She sighs and turns to face me. “What is it?”
I walk over to her, and when I put my hand on her shoulder, her first instinct is to move away. I lower my hand. “Come, sit.”
She takes a seat in one of the high-back chairs and looks at me.
I can feel her unhappiness through the bond, and I hate that she feels this way. But there’s nothing I can do right now. She’s not ready to stop blaming me yet, and I don’t blame her for that.
I sit on the edge of the bed and meet her gaze. “I want to know what you were doing out in the forest that night.”
Embarrassment crosses her face, and she looks away. “I wanted to clear my mind. Lydia had just told me about the cove and how it was a perfect night to view it because the sky was clear, but she couldn’t take me. She said she would bring me some other time. But she had already told me exactly how to find it, so I went on my own.”
My expression does not change, but I feel a sort of irritation. Why would Lydia tell her all that when she knew Sienna had been more than reckless with her safety lately? Telling anybody, not just Sienna, how to find the location was a stupid move.
“Why not just wait for her to go with you?”
Sienna shrugs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”
I blink. “No, that’s not what I’m getting at. You shouldn’t have gone, but what happened is not your fault. The oversight with the patrol rosters should not have happened. For the past couple of years, the forest has become a little dangerous. We’ve had this problem with rogues for a while. And even though Lydia briefed you when you first arrived, you still went in—”
Sienna’s eyes narrow as she cuts me off. “What are you talking about? She never briefed me about the forest.”
I frown. “She told me she did.”
My mate shakes her head vehemently. “She did not brief me, Lucas. You were the one who told me, after I had gone in the first time, that it was unsafe. The second time I went in was accidental. But when I went looking for the cove, Lydia had specifically told me that area was very safe. That’s why I went. I’m not stupid.”
Her words make me suspicious. Lydia told me she had briefed Sienna.
“She must have forgotten,” I murmur, more to myself than Sienna, but she abruptly gets to her feet. Storming over to me, she grabs me by my tie and yanks me forward, her eyes flashing.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Lucas,” she hisses, and the fierce look on her face has me both fascinated and terrified. “I am your mate. Whether willing or unwilling, I am your mate now. I am the only woman in your life, and I will not tolerate you sympathizing with another. Lydia has feelings for you, and unless you have sawdust between your ears, I’m sure you’ve picked up on that. I don’t care how close friends you two are, but when it comes to choosing between us, you’d better have a clear understanding of whose side you are on.”
Jealousy! My mate is jealous of another woman. Despite her feelings on our bond, seeing me so much as defend another woman gets her this worked up. My wolf rumbles happily.
