Page 243 of Psycho Gods

“Why didn’t you tell me?” John whispered brokenly against my hair, and I heard the unspoken question in his voice.

He was the person I told things to. He was my friend when the other men were my enemies.

It was different between us.

I inhaled his familiar sandalwood scent. “Because I didn’t want mother to take sex away from me too. I wanted to be with you in every way. No matter the circumstances. If you knew, you wouldn’t have touched me.”

John made a wounded sound.

“I need your touch,” I admitted.

His shaking fingers tangled in my wet curls.

Memories of him taking me in the field in the Legionnaire Games played through my head on repeat.

I swayed, but he held me up.

“No more,” John begged, lips pressed against my head. “Please—no more secrets. I don’t think I can survive it.”

I felt nauseous.

I inhaled courage and blurted out, “I-think-you’re-in-pain-because-I don’t-have-a-soul.” Water sprayed off my frozen lips.

He didn’t rear back like I expected.

John squeezed me tighter and whispered, “That’s bullshit—you’re wrong. If you were missing a soul, there would be no bond to form.”

I pulled back to put some space between us, which put me flush against Luka, who rubbed his hands up and down over my arms like he was trying to warm me.

The Necklace of Death pulsed against my chest.

I reached my hand up under my sweatshirt and held it; the stone was warm and vibrating like it was alive.

John’s eyes widened as he stared at where I gripped the necklace under my clothes.

I said quietly, “I need to take the jewelry off so you both can stop hurting.”

Luka stopped rubbing my arms comfortingly. His hands stilled, and he gripped my biceps tightly.

John shook his head. “It has already completed the bond. Taking it off will do nothing.” He moved closer.

My back was flush against Luka.

I was pinned between the twins.

Luka whispered in my ear, “The jewelry is a symbol of our love for you. Now that we’ve bonded, it’s connected us, body and soul. We’re your husbands, and you’re our wife.” His voice strummed with possessiveness, then the inflection changed and he begged, “Please don’t take it off.”

John trembled like he was freaking out.

“But it’s hurting you both?”

“You think we care about a little pain?” Luka asked in disbelief.

“That’s exactly how I felt,” I countered.

He frowned.

John tangled both his hands in my hair and said, “We’d walk through hell for you. This pain is nothing to us. What matters is your pain. You’re our wife. It’s our duty to protect you, and we’ve failed.”

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