Page 53 of Brody
“It’s an animal the Fae left behind when they sold this land to Boris Bane.”He paused.“Ridge folklore says the Swarmers were created by the Fae as guardians for their most sacred sites.And local legends claim they only hunt those who disturb Fae territories or artifacts.”
He touched my arm.“If they’re out here, it’s not safe.We need to call off our trip to the COL.”
“Until when?”I asked.“A day?A month?When, Thornbern?”
“I don’t know.”He ran his fingers through his hair.“Too dangerous.If it were just me, then I’d risk it.But I won’t risk you.The Swarmers are pack animals.So where there is one, its pack is not far behind.I can’t protect you while fighting off a pack.”
“I can fight, Thornbern.You saw that last night.”
“Yes, but the Swarmers are very different.One swipe from their venomous claws and initial paralysis spreads from the wound site within minutes.Hallucinations begin as the venom reaches the central nervous system.The venom specifically targets the connection between human and animal consciousness in shifters, temporarily severing the bond.Without treatment, victims can experience permanent neural damage.The Swarmers being active in the forest this time of year is wrong.I won’t risk your life.This expedition is canceled.”
I curled my fingers into fists at my sides, nails biting crescents into my palms.Heat flooded my face as I met his gaze, electricity crackling in the inches between us.
“Fuck that!”I pushed against his chest.“You can’t just do that!There’s a ticking clock.We need a cure for the pre-feral sickness for the unmated Ridge males and for you.The COL is our chance to find it.”
One of his hands slipped around my waist and drew me closer.“And I protect what’s mine… you.”He cupped my jaw with one of his big hands and leaned closer.The fire in his eyes intensified, its heat scorching me to my core.“You are my fated mate, whether you accept me or not.”
“I’m not going to accept you as my fated mate!”I jerked my face away from his hand.
“Why?”he asked, drawing back and narrowing his eyes.“I’ve smelled your desire several times since we’ve reunited.I’ve seen the way you look at me.And I for damn sure haven’t hidden how fucking much I need you.”
My jaw gaped.“Are you fucking serious right now?Do you really want to get into it?Here?In the forest?”
“Yes.Why the fuck not?You’re refusing to abandon our quest to the COL, so let’s fucking get into it, Rozi.I told you why I rejected you.”
“Because you have daddy issues!”I shouted.“But guess what?I do too.But years ago, that didn’t stop me from wanting to accept your mate claim.”I laughed, but it held no humor.
I continued.“Standing in that savanna when you said that I was your mate, I thought, finally, I found someone who will accept me as I am, raw edges and all.And when you rejected me, it cut me to the core.”
I pounded on my chest.“You ripped my damn heart out and left me in the savanna, emotionally bleeding.And now you expect me to accept your excuse for rejecting me and open my heart again?No.Fuck that shit!You are unworthy of me, my heart, and the mate claim.So if you think there’s going to be a happily-ever-after in our story, think again.”
The words shot from my throat like jagged glass, designed to wound as deeply as I’d been wounded.My chest heaved with the effort of forcing them out, old scars splitting open beneath the pressure.I’d spent years building walls around the hollow space his rejection had carved inside me, years of learning to survive without the mate bond that should have sustained us both.Each brick laid with tears and determination.I’d die before I’d let him dismantle them now with gentle touches and pretty words.
I turned my face away.Despite my anger, I couldn’t deny my body’s reactions to him, and that only heightened my frustration.
He guided my face back toward him.Emotionally spent, I didn’t bother resisting.“I see you.I did the first time we met, and I do now.You are a worthy mate.My equal.I admire your strength and compassion.You are beautiful, a warrior, selfless and fearless.But it’s on me to show you with actions, not words, that I am worthy of you.Either way, I will have you when you give me your mating bite, claiming me as yours.Then my bite will claim you too.”
What the fuck?He thinks I’m going to claim him?Well, that shit is not going to happen.
He lowered his hand.“Keep alert, and let’s go.”He strode in the direction of the forest, and I kept pace.
Exhaling heavily, I stayed silent and focused on the path ahead.This journey was dangerous, not just from creatures lurking in the dark, but from Brody trying to convince me to give him another shot.
I glanced over at him.“This conversation is far from over.”
To my annoyance, he simply nodded, his confidence grating against my already frayed nerves.He’d just decided that I was going to claim him, and that was supposed to be it?Fucking shifter.
The path narrowed as we climbed higher, forcing us to walk single file.I found my gaze drawn repeatedly to Brody’s form ahead of me, the broad expanse of his shoulders, the confident set of his stance, the way his Henley clung to muscles that shifted with every movement.
“Stop,” he said suddenly, arm extending backward in a gesture that brooked no argument.
I froze, eyes following his gaze to the path ahead.Nothing seemed amiss, just more forest, more dappled sunlight, more endless green.
“What is it?”I whispered, every sense suddenly on high alert.
“We’ve reached the boundary to the COL,” he murmured, picking up a stone and tossing it onto the path ahead of us.
As the stone sailed through what appeared to be ordinary air, a ripple of iridescent light flashed where it passed, resembling oil on water or a soap bubble stretched thin.The stone vanished on the other side, no sound of impact, no evidence it had ever existed at all.
