Page 59 of Who Owns You?

“Of course, I need to keep the nest well fed.” The words are weak, barely a whisper.

“Oh…Julius.” Charlotte stands up and rushes to me, crushing me from behind in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

I feel her tears seep into the fabric of my sweater and grip the wooden spoon tighter.

“It’s not your fault. It’s all our fault. We were too gentle with Atlas. He should have been going to therapy.” My shoulders slump. “We failed him long before you came along.”

“I didn’t help at all, and yeah, I think we all need therapy.”

I sniffle, and I can feel her wipe her nose on me.

I grin just a little and turn around in her arms. I pull her closer and rest my chin gently on the top of her head.

“He’ll calm down and come back. He has to.”

Chapter 26

CHARLOTTE

Atlas is never farfrom my mind. Three days into his tantrum, I’m more than sick of being alone. I miss all my gargoyles, but the guilt eats away at me like acid. He didn’t want me because of his deep-seated hatred for witches, and we should have been able to work that out together, but I got too excited by the possibility of orgies with four hot supernatural dudes to think clearly.

I’ve never been this physically interested in anyone before, and suddenly, creatures I would, in theory, run screaming from are just drawing me in deeper and deeper.

Burrowing into the pile of blankets I’ve amassed, I slide a hand out from under the pile and pull the plushies into the space one by one. Laying them all beside me, I sigh and curl the Atlas one into my arms. I can feel a steady heartbeat, strong and defiant against my chest.

“I know we haven’t gotten off on the right foot,” I murmur softly against the plushie’s gently pointed gray ear. “But we all miss you. Your nest-mates most of all, of course, but I do too. Ihaven’t gotten to know you at all, and I’m already halfway in love with you.”

Of course, the stuffed Atlas doesn’t respond, but I swear I can feel the heartbeat picking up against my own. I hold him tighter, hugging the absolute crap out of this tiny magic version of my soulmate.

The steadiness of his heartbeat and warmth radiating off all my tiny mates settles me right to sleep.

DARIUS

Out of everyone, I should have known better. The oldest is supposed to be the wisest, but clearly I never got that memo. The formation of this nest had been a fight from the very beginning. Atlas never knew what to make of his place in our nest, and now he’s gone, and I finally have to confront the fact that I’ve failed him. Julius and Marcus are good friends. But me? I’ve always gotten along better when I have someone I can take under my wing both physically and metaphorically.

Atlas was the one who relied on me to know what to do in a split second, and I let him down when it came to the expanse of our future. I was lax with our other nest-mates. Julius and Marcus took our affections for Charlotte too far, way too fast for Atlas to handle. I’m supposed to be able to mediate my nest, but I’ve failed royally.

Giving a mate a nest’s heart is deeper than marriage, and Atlas knew that better than the others. He always believed he had something to prove, so he became our encyclopedia. When we all came together, it was Atlas who began crafting the heartof our nest and made sure it was absolutely perfect for our future mate, whoever they may be. It was never a question of if he was good enough, but he made it seem that way. The chip on his shoulder from being made always made him feel inferior to us, even if we didn’t see it that way. To us, he was always just one of us.

Sadness makes my stomach burn, so I do the only thing I can think of and pour myself another two fingers of scotch. I take the short glass and swirl the dark liquid, drinking it in one pungent mouthful before setting the glass back down on the small chair beside my favorite seat in the more formal sitting room.

The fire crackles in my periphery, and I wonder if I can pay Eloise or Dara enough to track Atlas down for us. He hasn’t been spotted by any of our nearby allies, so the worry keeps mounting in my chest.

There seems to be no way to get to him until he chooses it, and it frustrates me to no end. He hasn’t even reached for the pool of magic that we share, or I would be able to follow that pull like a trail of breadcrumbs.

“Where in the world are you, youngling?” I muse aloud, tipping my head back and shutting my eyes.

“Please, don’t make me go back.” The youngling’s voice cracks as they tremble so hard I’m afraid they may crack a wing.

The tree they picked may be large, but the cavity they are hiding in is narrow and more than too small for them. This tree is on the edge of the forest, closer to the small village nearby, and well used by the local children. When some of them had come screaming about a monster, I knew I had to investigate.The rains that are common in this part of the world pour down as I land. I had ignored it, but it must have covered him from my notice on patrol.

I slowly lift my hand and extend it toward him with my palm up.

“You don’t have to go back. You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to be,” I say coolly, my face impassive and unmoved by the situation that is actually tearing my heart from its place in my chest.

“I never wanted to be made,” the youngling sobs.

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