Page 34 of Fae Divided
“Enslaved the Ferwyn for millennia and forced them to fight petty border wars in Faery where they died in droves.”
“The Athair promised freedom in the Wilds.”
“Yourmasterhas already branded us.” James rushed the bars. “Like fuckin’ livestock.”
“It was necessary,” Grayson shouted and spun away. His big hands tore into his scalp while his chest heaved. He tugged at his dark locks and muttered incoherently.
James couldn’t maintain his anger in the face of Grayson’s inner struggle. He wasn’t the real enemy. “Jeremiah,” he said in a low, soothing tone. “When is Daimhín due to return? Does he know you aren’t holding Sarah at the farmhouse?”
“I’m not sure.” The Texan’s big body stilled and then shuddered. His shoulders lifted and he turned, mouth creeping up at the corners. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
He unclipped the handcuffs from his belt and offered them to James through the iron bars; the flesh on Grayson’s forearm reddened and bubbled as he gave the manacles a shake. “Put them on unless you want to be trapped inside this cage when the master arrives.”
James accepted the steel shackles and locked them around his wrists in front of his body instead of behind. The rebel Alpha didn’t object.
The cuffs scorched James’ skin but didn’t immediately blister. The impure alloy would make a partial conversion doable; he’d have access to his wolf’s teeth and nails when meeting the Elven Lord. Grayson gave him a knowing smile and unlocked his prison, gesturing to lead the way outside.
Adam waited at the top of the stairwell, holding the metal door open as they left the in-ground bunker and stepped into night air, heavy with humidity. Dark shaggy locks hid most of the shifter’s face, and it dawned on James that every outcast wore his hair long. Were they all hiding the Fae’s mark on their necks?
“Did you check on Sarah?” Grayson asked James as he headed toward the front yard. Gait unhurried.
“I won’t risk it. The brand could corrupt the bond.”
“It doesn’t.”
James stopped dead, forcing the burly Adam to skid to halt or knock him over. “You can’t know that.”
“I do know,” he said without breaking pace or looking back. “I know.”
Grayson’s scent held the mellowed old cedar of sadness. “Jeremiah—”
“Open it, Reed.”
“I think you should trust the Alpha in this,” Adam said, giving James a gentle push to get him walking again. “Don’t let the Athair use your heartma—your truemate against you.”
James tested the strength of the steel cuffs, wrists raw and inflamed. His gums ached with the need to convert as the sound of gravel crunched beneath tires in the distance. He was running out of time.
With Grayson on one side and Adam on the other, James suppressed the searing pain unique to iron and flung open his bond with Sarah.
Relief on the heels of surprise, followed by a tangle of love, guilt, anddefianceresonated with perfect clarity along the web-like network. Too perfect.
James quickly homed in on his mate’s location.
Oh, hell, no.
Adrenaline shot through his system, and he released the vise clamping his tie to the Walker Pack’s Alpha.
Samuel was as close to the farmhouse as Sarah.
James was going to kill his brother-in-law. No amount of reassurances currently pumping through the pack bond would save him from a painful ass-kicking for placing his truemate in danger.
Daimhín’s sedan rolled to a stop, and Adam’s body tensed beside him, the shifter gripping the hilt of the curved sword at his hip.
“Welcome, milord,” Grayson said when the car door opened, his tone cordial. Seemingly unconcerned with the knowledge that the Elven Lord was capable of squashing him like a bug when he discovered his disobedience.
“Grayson,” he replied, gracefully unfolding his willowy frame from the luxury vehicle. He approached the trio of Ferwyn males—all deadly despite one being shackled—with hands clasped behind his back. Utterly unafraid. His silver gaze dismissed Adam with barely a glance and roamed over James, pausing on his manacled wrists. “Still unconvinced, I see. I’d hoped the capture of your mate might have swayed you to our side by now.”
James growled, deep and hostile. His canines burst through his gums. The trace iron in the handcuffs burned like fire.
