Page 7 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

Why hadn’t I?

After a moment of focus, flames rippled over my skin and burned away the evidence of what had just occurred. Ave’s shirt turned to ashes, and I forced myself to stop considering the consequences of what I’d just done.

Of the bond I’d just created.

We were only friends. Nothing more. Our connection put an end to our pain, and that was all.

So I strode into the group of fae and asked, “How can I help?”

Two

Aev

For the firsttime in two decades, my mind was completely clear. There was no instinct driving me toward Naomi’s side. No silent, invisible pressure to chase a woman who didn’t want me. No rejection clouding my thoughts and making me feel like I needed to capture and claim the woman fate had paired me with, or else continue suffering the constant burning pain in my chest that had lingered for so long.

With that clear mind, I should’ve been thinking about my people.

Or about the terror I may have just released upon all of us.

Or at the very least, about the fact that my power was currently so weak that I couldn’t even feel the icy prison I’d built with my own magic.

Instead, I was thinking about the golden-haired phoenix who had taken my cock in her small hand, because she wanted to take away my pain.

About the way her hot flesh had felt against my fingers.

About the trust in her eyes.

The desire.

I had once hoped that Naomi would look at me like that, but the hope had fizzled out years and years ago. Our mating was one neither of us had enjoyed—and I was really damn glad that she’d discovered a way out for us both.

Dakota and I had only spoken in our human forms a few times while the seelie had her spying on me, because I’d rarely been out of my beast form. When we had talked, we’d discussed the pain she had been in since Nev broke their bond. She was happy for the male, and hadn’t been hurt that he picked another woman. But there was a constant pain that lingered on the frayed edge of the bond they’d once shared.

Had I been free to do so, I would’ve offered to exchange simple vows with her, to free her from that pain. Because I wasn’t, she had simply been preparing me for the agony that would likely accompany my broken bond as well.

She didn’t know that I’d been in pain because of that damn bond since the beginning of it, though.

As I ran through the forest, my lungs filled and emptied completely. My heart beat normally. And my mind—it was gloriously quiet.

I had considered, in the moments before accepting Dakota’s proposal, that another mate bond could be just as bad as the one I had already dealt with.

That I may not want to tie myself to another woman.

But the pain had been excruciating, and I knew Dakota. I’d heard her stories of her life. I knew that she was gentle, and kind.

And that if I asked her to, she would kiss another male to break the bond between us, and wouldn’t hold it against me in any way.

Unlike Naomi, she cared about me.

And that was a difficult thing to wrap my mind around, considering the way the last two decades had gone.

Now that I was running, though, I was able to look inward, at the new bond in my chest.

It felt so much different than the old one.

Mine and Naomi’s connection had felt forced. Like fate had slashed her claws through both of us, binding us through pain and blood and hatred.

The bond with Dakota felt like…

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