Page 18 of Faerie Fate
Mike was somewhere in the academy. He had to come. He had to get here fast.
The air around me shifted. My gorge rose higher when Kendrick stepped up to press his chest against mine, groaning. Sickeningly, my heart slowed to match his rhythm, the mate bond forcing the beast into time.
“Hmm.” He drew in a breath, lazily rubbing the tip of his nose against my face but careful not to disturb my glasses. “The way you smell, we might have to have ten pups. You’re strong, young. You’ll be able to carry them without trouble.”
My tongue tied itself in knots as sickening heat fused my spine straight. “So you can use me until I die?”
He chuckled. “The idea has merit.”
He touched me like he owned me, like he had a right to the things I refused to give him. With the bond between us…he did. Ihadto submit to him.
The door opened again and although Kendrick didn’t move, he stiffened. The bulk of his massive shoulders blocked out the view and his stench made it impossible to distinguish the newcomer.
My heart lurched against my chest. Mike? Had he shown up to save me?
But Mike wasn’t the one who pulled Kendrick off of me. It was Uncle Will.
His eyes bulged. “Grimaldi, you have my niece in chains. She’s covered in blood! Let her go.”
I sucked in a breath. “Uncle Will, help.”
A long, uneasy pause followed, and Kendrick’s face curved into an obnoxious half smile. He slid his hand down my chest and rested it over my heart. “Problem, William?”
William Alderidge, my uncle and my alpha. At least he had been, until the mate bond with Kendrick clicked into place.
Uncle Will vibrated with power. “Let her go.”
“She’s not yours to control anymore. She’s my bitch now.” Kendrick took fierce pleasure in reminding Will of the situation.
My uncle got me into this mess but I stared pleadingly at him.Help me. My mouth opened to call his name again but no sound made it past my strangled throat, nothing besides a small squeak.
Please do something.
He’d already done something. He’d sold me into this nightmare and now it was too late. My stomach plummeted. The bond was in place and there was no way to break it.
“The chains are unnecessary.” Will stepped up and clapped Kendrick on the shoulder.
Shrill alarm ripped through me as Kendrick froze. He glared at Will’s hand on his shoulder but Will only dug his grip in deeper.
“Release her, now. She’s already mated to you,” he demanded. “Don’t treat her like a prisoner.”
My uncle looked exactly the same as when I’d last seen him. Almost, I realized on closer inspection. He might wear the same double-breasted suits he preferred when he slayed his enemies in the courtroom but there were now dark circles underneath his eyes, shadows where none used to exist. None he’d ever let me see, anyway.
Every line of his suit lay pristine against his strong frame, each hair meticulously in place, as always. Only those shadows were changed.
And underneath it all, I recognized the tics. The tiny tells no one else sees unless they know my uncle. The vein at his temple throbbed, his jaw tight, and his posture shifting slightly to the left.
He was furious.
What had changed between him and Kendrick? They were buddies the last time I saw them together. Uncle Will definitely stood against us when we’d broken into his house, searching for Livvy’s journal.
That was only a few months ago. So what happened to make him want to fight for me now?
“Grimaldi!” Will barked out the name and Kendrick finally relented. “I said let her go.”
“You know what happens to wolves who become a pain in my fucking ass, William.” He spat out the name in retaliation. “Don’t make me regret our partnership.”
“Partnership?” Will scoffed as Kendrick started undoing the mail around my arms. “Is that what you call this sham?”
