Page 75 of Fortune Fae Academy
Rowan frowned. “That’s what I thought, too. But it seems that we’ve fucked with the Web enough to disrupt the rules of how it all works.” He rubbed the tattoo on his arm that I realized wasn’t just vibrant. Itglowed. “I need to talk to my mother. I’ve had this tattoo for as long as I can remember. I always assumed she gave it to me as a child. When I had asked her about it, she told me that it symbolized her regret at giving up the Fire Source. She’d been ‘young and stupid’ and she wanted me to always have the chance to make better choices in my life. I thought it was just supposed to be a reminder, but now I’m starting to think she actually did something to me.”
“Then my bite should help you,” I surmised. I’d seen as much in the timelines that had begun to spring up around the Beta. My bite would solve more problems than it would cause.
Not to mention I was starting to see what Gina saw in Rowan. Despite his level of pain, he stood up for what he believed in. He challenged me even though he didn’t have any hope of winning a physical battle. Should I have chosen to force my will on him, he would have had no choice but to accept.
But his spirit would not have wavered, and that made him as strong as any Alpha.
He’d lasted against Axel for months all because of his desire to protect Zeke and to distract us from Gina. It had bought her time, even if it hadn’t necessarily changed the outcome.
He didn’t hide the threads of his past or his future from me. I wasn’t sure if that was because he had no control over the Web right now or if he was ready for me to see the truth of his strength.
He was a Beta from the House of Iron, a clan of blacksmiths who forged their children in hot coals as much as they did Dust weapons. Rowan was no different.
“Help me how?” Rowan asked, a tone of skepticism vibrant in his voice. “Your bite would fill me with Dust, and that is something I seem to be rejecting right now. You could do more harm than good.”
“On the contrary,” I said, kneeling against the bed so that we were at eye level. “I see two distinct timelines. In one of them, it would reopen the Web to you again and give you footing that you desperately need.”
Rowan sighed. “And the other?”
I steeled my jaw, but I had to tell him all of the possibilities. “Or… it could kill you.”
Rowan slowly nodded. “Of course it might. What kind of choice would it be without the potential of death lingering over me like a bad prophecy?”
“The choice is yours,” I told him, meaning it. “I wouldn’t propose it if I thought there was another way.”
This was the only path that led forward. I could attempt to forge a new one without Rowan in it, but that wasn’t what Gina wanted.
And Rowan deserved better than what I’d given him. I would show him that I meant to fix this. I couldn’t take back the things I had done, but I could ensure that the future was one worthy of a Beta with his strength.
What I didn’t mention was the risk it would put me in. By bonding another Beta, I tied my strands in the Web to his. That was the only way I could stabilize him against the strange, residual pull the Fire Source seemed to have on his soul.
If he died, then he might take all of us with him.
But if Gina found him worthy of that risk, then I would, too.
“Do it before I change my mind,” Rowan said. He closed his eyes, then seemed to think better of it and watched me with his fiery stare. “But I swear on all the Dust I own, if you fuck things up again, I’ll go to the council and sever our bond myself.”
I grinned. My fangs ached with the promise of a bite.
Not just any bite, but aclaimingbite.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Rowan,” I said as I leaned in, choosing the location just above the scars Axel had left behind.
My mark would always be above his. He might have bitten Rowan first, but I was the one to finish it.
Rowan watched me as I worked on the toxin, hovering over his skin. I flexed my jaw as my fangs grew in size, aching for what was coming.
Because oh, yes, he wouldcomefrom this.
Rowan knew what would happen, but he didn’t waver. He remained still, not even flinching when my fangs pierced his skin and drew blood.
Oh, his bloodburned. It sent fire down my throat that made me growl in response. I released my toxin, thinking of Gina, thinking of what Rowan could become under my tutelage.
The Web flared to life in response, engulfing us in silver flames as it purged us and refined us like a weapon to be wielded.
Mine,I thought, allowing myself to fall into the lust of the claim. I wouldn’t fuck Rowan, not when he was injured.
But when it was time, I would finish this claim. For now, I tangled the strands of our timelines together and secured them with fisted knots.
