Shamed, he pulled his hand out of the wall and stretched his bloody fingers. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
Hannah grabbed his hand none too gently, and he winced. She clucked her tongue and didn’t even look at him. “Stupid wolf,” she muttered.
He brought his other hand up and brushed a wayward curl out of her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated that I was so stupid and reluctant.”
She glared at him, a fire burning in her eyes, her curls swaying around her face. “You think you’re the only one with the right to feel that way? Huh? I’m not marked either, Reed. Maybe that’s why we’ve all been feeling on edge lately. Because we aren’t truly mates with our supernatural halves—only our human halves. We’ve been denying it. And now its cost us Josh.” Her voice broke at the last sentence, tears filled her eyes, but she shook it off.
They’d mated their human halves through their love making in the woods after the fire. He’d spilled his seed in both his mates, cementing the initial sparks of their bond. But without the marks on their shoulders, his wolf wasn’t mated to them, something he needed to fix but had been too afraid.
He pulled her close, enveloping her in his arms. “I know we wanted to wait for our mating ceremony and for more information on Josh, but we can’t wait any longer. As it is, we probably waited too long.”
She nodded, her face pressing into his chest. “Now we need to find him.”
“You might be able to through your bond, but it’s tricky,” his father said.
Reed’s eyes widened. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
“It’s something that happens to some couples after a mating. Not all, but it’s worth a shot.”
“Then let’s do it. Let’s find him.”
“We’ll go with you,” his father said. “But if he’s where we think he is, we can’t go through the boundaries protecting them. I can still feel Josh slightly through my Alpha bonds, but it feels oily—slick. I think, though, through your bond, you should be able to get through. The trinity bond should have enough power to do it.”
“You think? All of this is just a guess?”
His father growled, but a sad look passed over his face. “It’s the best you have.”
Reed closed his eyes, praying for strength and whatever magic went into their bond. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Bring Jasper and North. We need to leave Kade and Maddox here to protect the Pack.”
Reed nodded. No matter what, he’d bring Josh home. Demon or not.
****
Josh held his stomach and groaned. Another wave of pain smashed through him and he threw up on the floor. His kidneys felt like mutilated raisins. He was sure his face resembled a black and blue likeness of his normal self. Bruises covered every inch of his body.
He took another breath and tried not to hurl again. As he did, he could feel his skin knit together, healing in soft bursts of warmth that itched.
Was this what it meant to be a partial demon?
He could apparently heal. His strength increased with each passing hour. He raged out more often than not. And he had flashed from one place to another with just a thought—once. The emptiness inside him spread.
He missed two people, but he couldn’t think of whom. Flashes of gray and green, interspersed with laughter and heat filled his mind, but he couldn’t remember who they were. His head pounded at the thought, and he promptly forgot.
The door opened, and Caym walked in. Josh bit his lip and pulled himself off the floor.
He must please his master.
“I like your obedience.” Caym sneered.
Josh lowered his eyes. He wasn’t worthy of looking at him.
“You’ve proven yourself to Hector by submitting to him. You will listen to him and follow his orders until I say otherwise. Do you understand?”
Josh nodded. Anything for his master.
“Your next mission will be to take back what has been lost.”
He raised his head, keeping his gaze low. “Yes, master.”
“I need the two that walked out of here by your hands. They are very important to me. They must die.”
Josh nodded.
“You will bring them here, and I will drain them of their powers. And then you will have the pleasure of killing them.”
“Yes, anything.”
“The witch and the wolf will die by your hand. Good. Now take off your shirt.” Caym raised the whip in his hand and grinned. “It’s time for your training in obedience.”
Josh quickly took off his shirt, not giving it a moment’s thought. When the first blow came, he bit his lip but didn’t cry out. He needed the training to kill the witch and the wolf. Anything for his master.
Chapter 27
The Jeep hit a rut, and Hannah braced her hand against the door so she wouldn’t hit her head. She gripped Reed’s hand in a desperate attempt to keep her grounded. Her nerves frayed further as they moved closer to the Centrals’ territory. She sat in the back seat huddled next to Reed, praying for the strength to get through this.
Because she had to. No other option remained Without Josh, they’d fracture and dissolve into the wind. He was their steady rock, the one that held them together, that melded Reed’s outgoing personality to her hesitant and yet not-so-hesitant one, that took all of their strengths and weaknesses and made them better for it.
The car hit another bump, and Jasper cursed. “Sorry, guys, these back roads suck. But we’re getting close.” His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel, and another wash of sadness swept over her.
He’d left Willow and their new baby at home so he could be their backup for whatever danger lay ahead. North, in the passenger seat, rubbed his temples and looked just as stressed as Jasper.
The bond between her and Reed pulsed with each ragged breath. She could feel him in her soul. Not his pain, but his presence. That at least comforted her. But the bond between her and Josh felt like glass, like it could break at any moment, that any movement or breath would shatter it. She closed her eyes. Her teeth bit into her lip, and she concentrated.
Please, Josh. Be okay.
He had to be. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. Or the man sitting next to her. But something from his conversation with his father churned her stomach.
“Reed?” Hannah asked. “Why didn’t you mark me at your parents’ house? Wouldn’t it have been easier?”
North coughed up a laugh while Jasper snorted.
“What?” She looked at them both. “What did I say?”
Reed blushed. “Um, I wouldn’t suggest that. The bite is an intimate thing.”
“Oh, like it’s personal? That makes sense.”
North laughed again, and Reed kicked the back of his seat.
Okay, what’s going on?
“No.” Reed cleared his throat.
This could be bad.
Her mate smiled wanly. “Once I bite you, you’ll orgasm.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks scalded, and she lowered her gaze from the brothers.
Talk about awkward
.
Jasper growled from the front of the Jeep, and Reed rubbed circles into her palm.
“What’s wrong Jasper? Did I say something?” she asked.
North cracked up again. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be an ass. Really. Jasper gave Willow her mating mark in front of a bunch of us and most of the Centrals.”
Oh geez. “So that means Willow…”
“Yes.” Jasper growled louder this time.
Oh.
“Why would you do that Jasper?” Hannah had thought him a nice guy who cared for his mate with every breath he had. Why would he humiliate her like that?
“I didn’t have a choice,” he answered plainly, his grip on the steering wheel tighter. “They were going to kill her.”
Damn Centrals. They messed everything up. Destroyed all of the precious moments.
Something else nagged at her.
“Reed,” she said, “if we’re going to mate Josh now, does that mean we’ll have to... um…you know…”
Reed shifted in his seat. “I don’t see a way around that.”
“So Josh will, um…be really happy in front of everyone?”
He nodded in the fading light, but something flashed over his eyes.
“What?”
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “To make sure the bond actually clicks and we can use whatever power comes with it, I’ll have to mark you too.”
She felt a blush rise up her cheeks. “You’re telling me I’m going to have to come in front of whoever is in the room?”
Oh dear goddess. Talk about awkward.
Jasper cleared his throat. “If it makes you feel any better, North and I won’t be in the room. We can’t cross the barrier. So you won’t have to do that in front of the family—like Willow did.”
She had a whole new amount of respect for her Beta’s mate now.
She closed her eyes and bit her lip. “Josh and I don’t have to bite each other or you, right?”
Reed shook his head. “No, I’m the only wolf. You two can mark each other, but it won’t add to the bond other than the emotional aspects.”
She exhaled the breath she held. “Okay, then why can’t the two of us just mark each other now?”
North snorted. “Please, not in the back seat.”
Jasper shook his head.
Reed pulled her close, his calloused painter’s fingers trailing goose bumps down her arms. He lowered his head, his lips pressing against hers, and she melted. She pulled back and panted.
“Oh my. I didn’t mean while we were all still in the car.”
North threw a wad of paper at the two of them, laugher dancing in his eyes above the nervous tension radiating in all of them.
Reed trailed his fingers down her cheek. “I just wanted to kiss you. I love you, Hannah. But I need to mark Josh first. Just in case.”
His face shut down, and she couldn’t read him. Couldn’t feel him through their bond other than the faint wisp of his presence.
Her heart sped up and she looked into his iced eyes. “Just in case of what?”
He lowered his gaze then took a deep breath before meeting it again. “Just in case we’re wrong and I can only mark one.”
Her vision blurred, and her body shook. “You mean you might not be able to mark me afterwards. That the feelings we have are wrong and ugly? Is that what you mean, Reed?” How could he say that? They’d completed part of the mating that night in the forest. The three of them had made love and sent the tendrils of their souls through each other, anchoring them for all time. How could that be wrong?
“That’s not what I’m saying at all, baby. But with the demon bite and everything attacking us at all sides, we can’t be too careful. We are mates. I know it in my heart.”