Page 74 of Bite of Passage
“That girl punched me in the fucking balls, but not to get free.I’d already let her go.She was pissed I took her from you.Then, at Petra’s place, the woman had tunnel vision—was determined to get you out of there.I have no doubt she would’ve hurt me far worst this time if I tried to make her leave without you.Or she would’ve left me imprisoned and gone to get you herself.Hell, she might’ve tried to decapitate me or asked the treacherous teenaged witch to bespell me again if I disagreed with her plan.I don’t think Jasmine would’ve fought like that for me.Jasmine wanted to dominate me.She wanted to be the only thing in my life.”He shrugged and took a sip of his drink.
“I don’t know why Gemma is so committed to me.I sure as shit don’t deserve it.”
“She believes in you.”
Skarde glanced up; it sounded like Cade had more to say.
On a whisper Cade added, “You deserve it.She’s right.There’s no one else who wants to do what you do.There’s no one else as capable.The Directorate has records on you.They talk a lot about you.I’ve heard about some of the things you’ve fought, the problems you’ve fixed.They’re horrifying and scare the hell out of all of us, but not you.I think in some corner of their minds there’s a mixture of respect and terror of your skills.”
Praise?His brother didn’t hand out compliments.They fought.They argued.They rarely agreed.That was their relationship.
“From the first day, she believed in me,” Skarde muttered as he grabbed the bottle of alcohol and took a deep drink.“I don’t know what’s happened to mess up Fliet.I think whatever it is goes way beyond a grudge against me for killing his brother’s mate.”
“He was a good fighter before he went weird.”
“At the risk of saying something soft… Shit, my head’s all kinds of messed up at the moment.If you want to learn to do what I do, you can.I’ll show you.It requires a belief in magic, sometimes even wielding it—not the dark stuff, but small bits of white magic.”
Cade raised his cup in a silent toast that Skarde interpreted as a strong “maybe” before taking a sip.
The prophecy loomed, terrifying and murky.He liked knowing he could still trust his brother.Gemma was right.Talking shit out helped.
“Will you kill her if she goes bad, given the prophecy bullshit?I won’t be able to do it.”Skarde didn’t want to think about this but given the prophecy, he had to make plans.
Cade stared at his cup.“I already said I would.”Softly, he added, “You can’t run from her like you do every other woman simply because of Gorm.”
Skarde sucked in a breath and pushed back his chair as if about to stand.The name of the brother he’d idolized, the one who’d taught him how to survive his father’s temper, still had the power to hurt.
“Our brother was unstable before he got married and worse after,” Cade continued.“Our father broke him.The week in isolation in the pit… We survived, but he didn’t come out right.Gorm warped love into an abusive sort of control that drove his wife to despise him.She feared him so much she asked me to kill her once.Did you know that?”
Skarde knew.
Cade folded his hands on the table.“I refused to get in the middle of that fucked up relationship.”
“I don’t want to talk about Gorm.I know he wasn’t in his right mind, but clearly love didn’t work for him or our parents.”
“Our parents?That foul union didn’t start with love.And it ended without a shred of it between them.Do you remember how many times Mamman tried to kill him?I’m thinking at least twenty.The foul asshole was simply too tough to die or savvy enough to dodge death.Did you ever wonder why he didn’t kill her and be done with her murderous attempts?I think he loved it.He took it as another kind of challenge he could survive.He egged her on at one point.”
Skarde had forgotten a lot of that.“We’re a product of our upbringing.”
“True.I’m no relationship expert, but you’re going to have to work through all of it.You’re neither of them.Nothing scares you, but the thought of sharing feelings or someone getting under your skin, getting to know you… That sends you running.”
ChapterThirty
When he returned to Gemma,instead of being asleep she sat upright in the middle of the cot, bathed in the warm glow of candlelight.A serene smile rested on her lips.She wore an old shirt he’d borrowed from Cade, which was so long it came to her knees.
She whispered, “Sit next to me.You have to hear this.”
He crossed his arms and didn’t move.
With a wave, she beckoned him closer and patted the cot next to her.Not knowing where this was going, he sat.The flimsy bed groaned under his weight.He hoped it didn’t collapse.
Grasping his hand in hers, she pulled it into her lap.“Close your eyes.Vampire super hearing is incredible.Do you hear them?The night birds are talking to each other.I can even hear wolves far away.”She clasped his hand between both of hers and whispered, “It’s amazing.”
They sat in silence listening to the animal symphony for endless minutes until all he heard was her breathing and each heartbeat.He stared down at her straight nose with a light smattering of freckles, her long eyelashes closed over her eyes.
“Ye’re not angry about the change?”he asked.“Not panicking?”
She didn’t release his hand fully, but freed one of hers to smooth hair off his face.“I’m furious.”
