Page 48 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

I gestured for Summer to step off to the side, and felt Aev’s eyes on me as she followed me away from the others. I wasn’t under any kind of impression that we were alone or had real privacy, but what I was going to have to do wasn’t private anyway.

“Aev is getting possessive,” I told her quietly. “He thinks he wants us to be permanent. I don’t trust his feelings, because of the bond.”

“Girl, he’s a fae. There’s no way around the possessive thing. Remmo doesn’t even want me to help deal with the damn klynnas yet, and I respect his feelings too much to fight with him about it.”

“I know, I know. It just…” I bit my lip. “I don’t trust love, you know? People in love still hurt each other.”

Understanding welled in her eyes. “I understand completely. But just like you’re not Naomi, he’s not your dad, or your ex.”

“I know. But the bond creates emotion, right? So who’s to say it won’t ruin everything tomorrow? Or that he’ll realize he doesn’t have actual feelings for me?”

“The bond doesn’t create emotion, Dakota, it createsattachment. In a healthy relationship, that attachment is a good thing. In Aev’s relationship with Naomi, it didn’t work, because there was no emotion to back it up. That made it toxic. But if there’s love, or even just some small amount of affection, it only makes your connection stronger.”

I sighed, brushing some loose hair out of my face. “He acted like my mate, Summer. What do I do with that?”

“Did it trigger you?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Do you trust him?”

I bit my lip, not wanting to give her a nod.

She gave me a massive grin. “Then just enjoy it. The possessiveness can be really damn sexy, you know.”

Aev’s words rolled through my mind.

Let me want you.

Even this much later, they still gave me goosebumps.

“I think I’m going to ask Teris to bond with me temporarily,” I told her. “That’s why I needed to talk to you—I needed to make sure it wouldn’t affect us.” I gestured between us.

Her eyebrows shot upward. “Don’t you remember Clevv?”

“Aeven isn’t Clevv.” My voice came out harsher than I intended, so I tried to smooth it as I explained, “I need to know if his emotions are real.”

“I have no feelings for Teris anymore, outside of disdain. But I’d like it to be known that I—who am typically the maker of risky, dramatic plans—think there’s no way this plan could work out well for any of you. I still support you, if you really want to go through with it, but I have to put it out there.”

“I’ll put it in the records.” I winked at her.

She flashed me a grin, though there was a wrinkle in her forehead that told me she was nowhere near completely convinced. “Good luck, girly.”

“I’ll need it.” I stepped away from her, scanning the groups of fae around us until I found the Wild Hunt guys. Mare, North, and January were with them, but Nev and Fovea were missing. That didn’t surprise me; she had yet to start befriending his friends as far as I could tell.

Teris was with them, the only unmated male in the group.

Aev fell into step beside me as I headed toward them. Though I itched to tuck my hands into my pockets or something, to keep them occupied, my fireproof shorts didn’t have any.

“You shouldn’t watch me kiss Teris,” I told him.

“Of course I should. Kiss him while I’m not there, and you’re cheating on me, so I have to kill him. Kiss him while I’m watching, and you’re breaking a mate bond. I’ll still want him dead, but I should be able to control myself at least.”

My face, neck, arms, chest, and shoulders flushed again with his words.

I hadn’t thought of it like cheating, but… it kind of was.

Even though I hadn’t committed to him, outside of friendship.

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