Page 58 of Savagely Mated

“What’s not acceptable? Discipline? That attitude explains the way she behaves.”

“She can’t sit down, Einar.”

“Sure she can. She just doesn’t want to.”

His expression hardens and I see his jaw clench as he turns to shut the door behind him. If this was Kirin, there would be explosions, but Rafe’s more refined than our little rich pup pack member.

He expects me to be apologetic, I think. Wants to hear me tell him that I got carried away and I won’t do it again. The thing is I will do it again if she needs it. What happens to her ass depends entirely on how she behaves. That’s how it should be.

“I told you to be careful with her,” he says, trying another approach. “She’s our one chance.”

“You can’t train an effective assassin if you coddle them, Rafe. I know what I’m doing. I’ve done it a hundred, if not a thousand times before. She’s got good technique and form. It’s her head that’s not in the game. I’m getting her where she needs to be.”

“At what cost?”

“At any cost. It is as you told me yesterday. We have been planning this for years. It’s what has to happen. It’s what’s going to keep her alive. And if that means she hates me, and you hate me, and Kirin hates me, then so be it. I’m going to see the rightful king on the throne, and I’m going to make sure Darcy survives the hardest fight of all our lives.”

He sighs and runs a hand through his thick shock of dark hair. Rafe has a lot weighing on him. We all do. I have chosen to simplify things so that we achieve our goals. The others are letting their emotions rule them.

“She’s our mate,” he says. “We’re supposed to love her. We’re all she has in this world. She’s an orphan.”

“We are all orphans,” I remind him. “And the reason we are all orphans is because of the corruption we are going to stamp out through discipline and determination. She is our mate, but loving Darcy doesn’t change our destiny.”

He nods, his face shifting as my words sink in. Rafe’s a good man. It’s his primary quality. Can’t really say the same for Kirin and me. We’re more twisted in different ways. But Rafe? He’s full of notions of romance and honor and acting right.

“She’s home tonight, isn’t she? She’s not getting herself killed in the middle of the city. She’s doing her homework. What I’ve done has already made her safer than she was. Darcy doesn’t respond to anything besides firm and personal attention. So letme handle this side of things, Rafe. You don’t have to discipline her. You can go and coddle her all you want. I’m not stopping you. I just ask you to let me do what I know how to do.”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice twisted with reluctance. “Alright.”

Darcy

It’s been a little while since Rafe went storming upstairs. Now I can hear Rafe and Kirin talking in the next room. Not sure what they’re saying, but I bet I could guess.

The two of them come into the room with me. Kirin hands me a shot glass with a deep amber liquid that smells like it has been fermenting for longer than I’ve been alive.

“I heard Einar whipped your ass,” Kirin says. “Down that. It’ll make you feel better.”

I do as he tells me, tipping my head back, opening my throat and letting the whole rich, smooth, fiery brew slide down to my stomach. It doesn’t immediately make me feel better, but it does make me feel warmer on the inside.

“Yeah,” I say. “He did.”

Kirin smirks, not the reaction I was expecting. Rafe was upset when he saw what happened. Kirin just seems to think it is funny.

“The old man is going to be particularly dangerous to your ass, Darcy. We’re going to have to be more careful about getting out of here.”

“What did he do to you?”

“Me? Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I’m not his mate. And I’m definitely not his student. You’re both.” Kirin sits down in a lounge chair. “You’re somewhat fucked.”

I look over at Rafe. “What do you think?”

“I think you’ve been left to act recklessly for far too long, and if this is what it takes to stop you, then unfortunately, that’s what’s going to happen.”

I can’t believe this. Somehow, Einar has managed to get these two to present a united front. I go from thinking I have two of them on my side to realizing they are all on the same side. They might like me, they might really want to sleep with me, but their bond is strong, and they’re not going to fight each other over me. That realization makes me flush with anger. Someone should be on my fucking side. They should all be on my side.

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