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Alexander’s lips parted in shock, and he glanced at me. Gavriel’s grip on my hand was firm, unyielding, as if trying to feed me strength and support. Ty just stood there, watching it all unfold, wearing a mask I couldn’t read. None of it mattered. I felt like I'd been stabbed in the gut. Never once had I been directly blamed for my sister's death. We'd both been taken. We'd both been tortured. We both tried to escape. So many of the details of that experience had been blocked from my mind. I was told it was a trauma response. My brain attempting to protect me from my past.
“She died because we’re Wards. We were taken because of y—” His hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air supply. “Finish that sentence, daughter. Say it,” he said in a deadly whisper, pressing his fingertips into my flesh. My brain screamed at me to let it go. To not say it. I’d never seen him like this. He’d never hit my mom. He’d never laid a hand on me. He’d never threatened me. I’d never so outwardly defied him either. Guess there was a first time for everything.
If my father wanted obedience, he had another thing coming. That trait died with my sister.
“Of course. I always keep my promises.” “I’ll see you tomorrow. I can’t believe you got us into this mess. The fucking Earth and Emerald trials.” “About that . . .” “ ???” “New plan.” “No. No new plans. Stop making new plans!” “You’ll like this one.” “I highly doubt that.” “I’m going to win this election, and you’re going to help me.” “ . . . I’m listening.” “And then I’m going to dismantle the syndicates brick by brick.” “Now we’re talking.”
When the magic took us from our home, Ty and I had been sitting in my father’s study, getting another earful about our behavior and what he expected from us. Then “blip”. We were gone while he was mid-sentence— taken immediately to wherever we stood now. Alone. And I couldn’t have been more grateful for it.
If I couldn't win the trials and win the election, I was leaving. Opportunities like this didn’t come along often, and I wasn't going to miss it. Gav had the contacts to follow me out, but couldn’t do it for all of us. Not without our father finding out.. I loved Alexander, but he lived the syndicate life, and he could take care of himself.
“Well, that's just fucking rude,” I mumbled through my groan. Sam lay on the ground next to me. “Did anybody see that?” she croaked. Jackie looked around. “No. We’re the first ones here.” Well thank fuck for that. Ty just looked pissed off that I’d fallen. He wasn’t used to embarrassing situations. Not like me. I lived that life constantly. Even through his scowl, he extended his hand out to pull me up. “You okay?” “I’m fine, you don’t need to coddle me.”
I didn't want his help. Ty’s definition of protection varied. On the one hand, he didn't want me to get hurt. I could understand that. On the other hand, I knew who he was, and he wouldn't think twice about snapping somebody's neck because they looked at me the wrong way. How did I know? Because it happened before. I really didn't want another unnecessary death on my conscience.
Niall and Adrian appeared at the last portal. My mysterious subway-mate walked through it casually without falling. He didn't glide like his element was air. The way the ground called to him with a magnetic force, and he landed so effortlessly suggested he was an earth fae. Which made sense.
sending a reminder to my body that he was supposed to be mine. Not supposed to be. He was mine. I clenched my thighs together and grit my teeth to suppress the sudden desire to go to him.
“Does anyone else have any stupid questions they’d like to get out of the way?” I snorted, and Sam elbowed me.
“What? No. Well, probably not.” She sniffed the air. “No, it's definitely different. Colder. The temperature is two and half degrees lower.” “Could just be because Jackie's here. She's a cold bitch.” Sam stifled a laugh, scrunching her eyebrows together in an effort to remain serious, but Jackie heard me.
I glanced at Adrian. And he gave a little head tilt as he looked at the empty space next to him, beckoning me to come. Yes. Mine. My mate. My body and cavewoman instincts pulled me in that direction. My brain said don't go. I wasn't ready to address the mate situation. I wasn’t ready to admit how scared I was at the prospect of how much I wanted him. I wanted to belong. I wanted to know I would have the person that would never, ever leave me. Like Malachi. Like Marissa. Niall was next to him, watching the exchange between us. He looked tense; his jaw tight.
I couldn't try to win this and get away from my family if he was my constant protector and shadow. My alternative was putting my lust-driven self in the same house as my incredibly gorgeous subway-mate, my lickable—and frustrating—ex-mate that unrejected me, and a dude that looked at me like I was a goddess denying him the right to breathe. I thought there was only supposed to be shit at one end of the stick.
“Nikki,” my brother hissed at me. With a quick side glance at Sam, I could see she approved of what I was about to do. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Then I walked over to the group where Adrian, Malachi, and Niall stood. Ty was fuming. Before he could argue, Courtney clapped her hands and said, “So it is done.” A little fizzle of energy crackled through the air, as though magic had just bound us to these houses. And it had. No take-backsies.
The main room had high ceilings with big windows that gave a front row seat to the forest. The phoenix inside me began to feel a sense of calm and peace. Nature tended to do that to me, but it was so rare that I got to experience much nature living in Manhattan. If I put some thought into it, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt peace. I longed for it. For my world and my head and my phoenix and my body to just . . . be.
“Hey.” I sighed and rolled my eyes. “What?” “Just wanted to come say hi. We're staying in the same room, after all.” “Presumptuous much? We're staying in the same house. That's not the same as sharing a room.” “That's actually what I meant,” he said quickly, the words stumbling out in rapid succession. “I wasn't trying to insinuate that you were going share my—” “What makes you think it’s your room and not mine?” He looked around, unsure of how to answer. “I don't know. I don’t know why I said that. You can have the room. There’s a couch in the living room. I’ll just sleep there.” While a part
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Niall walked into the living area. “Well, now, I can’t have you being all chivalrous and giving her your bed without offering mine. So, Nikki, you can have my room, and I'll sleep on the couch.” I glanced between the two of them. “You have to be kidding me right now.”
“Nikki, can I please talk to you?” Malachi asked. “No, Malachi, you can’t. I told you at the solstice celebration that I didn't want to talk to you. I haven't changed my mind in the past twenty-four hours.” “All I'm asking is for a chance to explain.” All the hurt began to resurface. When it coupled with my anger, I felt the heat rising inside. “What makes you think you deserve a chance...
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“I suppose you're going to offer me your room and tell me you’ll sleep on the couch as well?” I said with a snarky tone. “I hadn't planned on it, no.” Looking between Malachi and Niall and back to Adrian. I pursed my lips and nodded once. “Good. Then I'm sharing a room with you.” All three guys raised their brows in surprise. Niall looked confused by my choice, and he gave Adrian a hardened glare. Malachi looked like he was at a loss for words.
Internally I groaned, not wanting to turn around and ruin my perfectly executed exit, but now I was going to look stupid if I went into the wrong one. Adrian casually said, “Third door on the left.” Bless. He so got brownie points for that. I nodded and headed that way.
The fire nestled between my fingers, never burning, but pulling at something I’d suppressed for reasons I couldn’t bear to admit. Closing my eyes, I stepped forward, letting the flame curl around my arm as I relished its touch while whispers in my mind begged the fire to consume me... “Hope I'm not interrupting anything,” Adrian said, startling me. “Son of a Baptist preacher!” I shouted, yanking my hand away from the fireplace so hard, the momentum turned my body, and I tripped over my own feet, landing on my ass with a resounding thud. Some supernatural I was.
“You know, you could clear your throat or something benign like that to let a girl know when you’ve walked in the room,” I complained as he extended a hand to help me up. “I didn’t intend to sneak up on you. You’re a shifter. I assumed you heard me down the hall.” He released my hand and shrugged, walking over to the side of the bed.
He lifted his shirt, pulling it over his head, and words were lost on me. Holy wow. Seeing Adrian without his shirt on sent desire straight between my thighs. He was sculpted. Lean. A tree of life tattoo covered his back; branches twining around his biceps. The center trunk was morphed into the body of a beautiful woman. Mother Earth.
So here I was, ogling hardcore. I checked to make sure my mouth had stayed shut. It wasn’t and I cringed. At least there wasn’t drool. I think.
“Well, you may not have been paying attention earlier, but you seem to be paying attention now,” he said with a smirk, pulling a clean shirt over his head. “Well, look, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you to start stripping.” My cheeks flushed. “So yeah. I noticed that.” “Like what you see?” “I'm not entirely sure how that's relevant,” I said lightly, walking past him. “Are we going to talk about this?” he asked, gesturing between us.
“You mean what happened the night before at the subway station, and then what happened yesterday at solstice celebration?” “Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about.” He looked relieved that I wasn’t pretending it didn’t happen. “...
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“It looks like you're about to climb out the window in the middle of a conversation.” “Nailed it. Five points to Gryffindor,” I said, giving him finger guns. “I'll be back later.” Internally, I groaned. Oh my goddess, I’m a walking embarrassment to women. Who gives finger guns to a sexy fae that just took off his shirt and wants to talk to you? Or better yet, bang you? Broken phoenix shifters that are trying to avoid humping their mate without even having a formal introduction, that’s who.
“Oh, and Nikki?” I stopped. “Yeah?” “You are invited to come to my side. If you did, I wouldn’t say no.” He sent me an appraising look and winked. Before I could respond, he walked out the door, leaving me standing there in an awkward, crouched position with one leg in the room and one leg on the roof.
A winged man covered in scales caught my eye, and I picked up a co-authored title called, Dragon Unleashed. I had no idea anyone wrote novels about dragons . . . in romance. I scanned the names on the front, wondering if Jessica Wayne and Heather Hildenbrand were dragons as well.
“What I am, is surprised that you left her alone. Once you had her in your general vicinity, I thought you might try to smother her.” “Yeah, well she's made it perfectly clear that she has no desire to be around me. That doesn't mean I'm giving up. But I may have to rethink my strategy for how to approach her.”
My animal snuffed at him in a haughty manner, not at all interested in what my best friend had to say. The dragon couldn't understand why Nikki didn't feel the same. He felt like we should claim her, and then she would understand and be happy about it. I might be emotionally stunted, but even I knew that wasn’t how it would go down.
It bothered me that she didn't seem to remember me or feel any sort of pull. Meanwhile, I was burning in lust for her. My skin was hot and tight. I was perpetually hard because just the smell of her had my hormones in full rage and my blood pressure rising. It was very much a “me problem.” Being around her had already become the sweetest torture.
“She hasn't rejected me, which makes me think she's at least somewhat open to the bond. I'm hoping that I can use that to get her to let me in. The easiest way to protect her is by being her mates. Until then, we'll just be fighting an uphill battle.”
There were only two available. And according to her, Ty was the worse of the two evils. Being the lesser evil when the other was nicknamed The Sadist wasn’t a high bar to reach.
“So, I was imagining the pining looks that you've both been giving her since yesterday evening?” he asked. Neither of us answered. “Well, if that’s so, this should be simple. She’s off limits.” “Excuse me?” Adrian asked, his lazy smile turning thorny. “I know your hearing is fine, Rose. So unless we have something to discuss, you’ll stay away from my mate.”
The floor was ripped out beneath me. If I weren’t sitting, I would have fallen. I barely even noticed he’d begun to walk away. Adrian’s smile flatlined. “What did you just say?” Malachi halted mid-step, then looked over his shoulder.
“Nikki,” I answered in a near growl. “She can’t be your mate. She’s mine.” “And mine.”
“You’re taking this very well,” Adrian said slowly. “As are you,” Malachi replied. “Trust me, I’m not.” “I’m aware,” Malachi said,
“I’d heard rumors that Nikki had found her mate but that her father sent him away. They couldn’t be about me. The timelines didn’t match. I was hoping they were wrong . . .” He rubbed at the stubble on his jaw.
“When I was ten years old. We grew up together. You?” “She, uh, was on the subway.” Malachi frowned. “Subway? Her father would never let her—“ “How do you know?” Both Adrian and Malachi turned to me. The darkness in my tone made the hairs on their arms stand straight. “How do you know she’s your mate?”
“I was eighteen when the bond snapped into place. She was younger and didn’t feel it yet, so I kept it to myself. Later when it did . . .” He looked away. “You haven’t claimed her.” I couldn’t hide the glimmer of hope in my voice. “No.” “Why?”
“We all have our reasons. Our own relationships with her to manage and work through.” “Right,” Adrian drawled. “If that’s the case, why are you here? You don’t need us—” “That’s where you’re wrong,” Malachi interrupted. “We share a mate. Unprecedented as that is, our futures were all merged when we found her. Our individual relationships with her may have nothing to do with one another, but claiming her? Living a life with her?” He looked between us as his word settled in. “We may have just become lifelong roommates in a complicated living situation.” “Welp. He’s not wrong,” Adrian said,
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“So what's your plan here? You're gonna swing from the tree to the roof like Tarzan?” “No, do you see any vines here?” I said, waving my hand toward the trees. Sam chuckled and shook her head. “There are no vines in Manhattan either, and yet, I vaguely recall an incident involving you, rope, and the Brooklyn Bridge.” “And it worked, Naysayer! But I don't need anything that elaborate.”
“I'm just going to climb the tree like in the movie Pollyanna, walk across that branch, and make it to my window.” “You do remember in Pollyanna, that she fell out of the tree and broke her back?” “I said, like the movie. I didn't say that the execution was going to be exactly the same.”
“Well, if you’re right—which you aren’t—then it's a good thing I have incredible healing abilities,” I said in a chipper voice, and she laughed. “Makes up for my shit hearing and sense of smell,” I added while finding my footing against the tree and climbing.
You’re a creep, Nikki. You’re going to smell his clothes. That’s what a total weirdo would do. Doesn’t count if it’s technically your mate, right? Oh well. I’d come this far. Arguing with myself had its perks. I always won. Just like a fucking creep, I held it up to my face and inhaled it with the enthusiasm of a Grade A stalker.
I had some seriously conflicting thoughts about Adrian. He appeared to be charming. He was incredibly attractive. For the record, I had never been anti-mate. I was anti-having my heart ripped out—and that was the only mate experience I’d had thus far. As best as I could tell, he didn't anticipate finding a mate any more than I did.
Maybe eventually go a little batshit crazy without a mate to ground my magic just so I could add a little excitement into the mix. The desire to find your one, to find your partner—to find that person made for you, who completes you—that was buried deep within us. Shifters, fae, demons; it didn't matter. That biology was ingrained in the fabric of our being—and it never went away. Not after heartbreak. Not even after rejection.
“I don't understand how this happened.” “Phaon’s a liar, that's how.” “I can’t believe he separated you. He’s a bastard but to do that to your own daughter?”
