Page 158 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Damen’s composure snapped slightly as he pointed at the witch. “You did the Soul Bond after I specifically forbade you! And to make matters worse, this isn’t even the first time you’ve gone behind my back regarding her!”
Miles finally looked at him then, slow and measured. His expression was unreadable, but Julian must have sensed something because he stiffened beside him.
“And as Julian told you before,” he steadily replied, “you don’t get to intervene in our relationship. That’s not how this works.”
Damen’s hands curled into fists. “You agreed to listen!”
“No,” Miles corrected, his tone light, almost absent. “I said that I understood. I never said I agreed.”
Damen glowered at him, fury rolling off him in waves, but Miles only tilted his head slightly, as if weighing something.
“Besides,” he added, his voice quieter now, almost conversational, “she’s the one who initiated the bond. I only followed.”
“You know damn well what I meant!” Damen snapped.
Miles rubbed the back of his neck, his posture loosening, as he wearily asked, “Do we really need to do this now?”
“Yes!” Damen turned his attention to me, and my muscles tensed.
Physically, he looked the same, but a shadow lurked in his eyes—enough to send the dragon in me on high alert.
Damen was unraveling, and it had nothing to do with Miles.
“You can’t do the Soul Bond with her!” he told me. “She’ll break.”
“I would never hurt her.” My jaw tightened. “Mu and I have bonded before—what makes you think this time would be different?”
“Mu has never been yourmate,” Damen pointed out. “Things are already different. You’ve never been able to hear her thoughts. You don’t know what else this link might awaken.”
He had a point. One I didn’t like.
“I can only hear her when I’m shifted,” I admitted. “But my father felt my mother, even from a distance. He knew the second she was in danger. So, no, I don’t know what might change.”
And when she’d died… he’d known without physical confirmation.
“Exactly,” Damen nodded.
“That would actually be helpful,” Julian cut in, unimpressed. “You’re just looking for excuses because you know that after Titus,you’renext.”
Damen glared at him. “I will, under no circumstances, do a Soul Bond.”
“You will if she needs it,” Julian replied.
“Mu has neverneededit,” Damen argued. “So it’s a moot point.”
“She’s hiding things—physical limitations, and skills she shouldn’t even have,” Miles interrupted. I tensed as Damen’s attention jumped back to him.
“Explain,” Damen commanded.
“She knows how to hunt,” Miles replied. “Stole my knife and killed a squirrel without missing a beat. That’s not something she’d have learned with Eric Richards. They never would have given her the opportunity to defend herself.”
“She identified specific species of venomous snakes too,” I added. “Ones that are not local. She didn’t grow up here.”
“Eric Richards operations are nearby, only an hour or so out.” Damen frowned, looking between them. “But we’re getting closer to a location. I’ve asked her once, but she won’t answer.”
“Which brings up my original point,” Miles sighed. “She doesn’t communicate a lot of what’s happening—like the fact that she’s in physical pain. Julian’s mentioned it before, but I want to reinforce that I can actually feel it. It’s severe.”
Damen scowled.
