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Authors: Rebecca Royce
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killed, managed to endure for a while to keep the pack together but it was hell for them. When our mates die, if we do not die with them, we commit ritual suicide to join them. It’s a compulsion. We must be together in this world and the next.”
“By the goddess!” If he’d thought she’d sounded horrified earlier, he hadn’t understood the definition of the word. Her voice took a pinched quality that made him wince. “You’re kidding? Who botched up a mating spell and put a death compulsion in?” He shook his head. She just didn’t understand and who could blame her? He was likely to get his mate killed. Or, if his brothers were to be believed, kill her himself. Who knew how dark his soul had turned?
I do. Would you like an actual answer?
He tuned out his wolf. Sometimes it was hard sharing a mind.
You’re telling me . His wolf snorted.
“It’s just how it’s always been.” He sighed. “I can’t explain it to you, Elizabeth.” He had to admit, he really liked saying her name. “Because I’m not really certain of exactly how the connection is made. Mated pairs never discuss it. There’s no rule you can’t, but no one does. It’s like their mating brings out some compulsion not to discuss it with others. I’ve tried asking and no one ever tells me. Also, they become part of some club the rest of us in the pack can’t belong to. Like they’re somehow more trustworthy than they were before the mating.”
“You sound sort of resentful about it. Something you want to discuss?” He shook his head. “No. Not ever.”
Elizabeth never needed to hear the tale of the time his brothers had taken him down and accused him of treason. Well, the second time they had. Who could keep track of how many times it had happened?
Not that he could blame them. They could probably smell the evil seeping out of his pores.
Chapter Six
Elizabeth stared out at the dark night from the relative safety of Rex’s stolen car. She was sure he’d done one of his “borrowing” tricks in order to get it, but seeing as she’d probably be dead if he hadn’t saved her, she didn’t feel like giving him a hard time about it. At least not for the moment .
In fact, she felt perfectly content to lie against him and not move at all. The slow and steady beat of his heart sounded in her ear from where her head pressed up against his chest. His arm brushed slightly over her hair. Every once in a while, when he would adjust the wheel, she would get to smell the masculine scent of his skin against hers.
In another life—if they were both just regular humans—she could really relax and just enjoy a drive through the country with her boyfriend. Instead, they were racing for their lives to get to Florida to avoid getting caught by the twins from hell.
“Your thoughts just became unpleasant.”
She looked up at his hard face. There was nothing soft about Rex. Even his jaw muscles looked tight. She wondered if he ever relaxed, even in sleep. Looking at him, she had to begrudgingly realize he would forever make all other men look weak and uninteresting. “My thoughts are my own.”
“I can smell your distress.”
She nodded. His nose again. “I was contemplating things, which of course made me think of the twins.”
“Tell me about them.”
“The twins? What’s to tell? They are spoiled and bratty. It’s weird to talk about them that way since they are grown women, but dealing with them is like dealing with children. They want what they want. Their mother makes sure they get it.” He nodded. “And when things go askew they punish you by using their magic since your own was suppressed thanks to the curse.”
“You’ve nailed it.”
She didn’t tell him about the beatings and the emotional abuse. Those were her secrets. The shame she hadn’t been able to protect herself from anything ever would stay with her for the rest of her life. For some reason, it felt pivotal to her Rex never knew that side of her.
Luck
“By the goddess!” If he’d thought she’d sounded horrified earlier, he hadn’t understood the definition of the word. Her voice took a pinched quality that made him wince. “You’re kidding? Who botched up a mating spell and put a death compulsion in?” He shook his head. She just didn’t understand and who could blame her? He was likely to get his mate killed. Or, if his brothers were to be believed, kill her himself. Who knew how dark his soul had turned?
I do. Would you like an actual answer?
He tuned out his wolf. Sometimes it was hard sharing a mind.
You’re telling me . His wolf snorted.
“It’s just how it’s always been.” He sighed. “I can’t explain it to you, Elizabeth.” He had to admit, he really liked saying her name. “Because I’m not really certain of exactly how the connection is made. Mated pairs never discuss it. There’s no rule you can’t, but no one does. It’s like their mating brings out some compulsion not to discuss it with others. I’ve tried asking and no one ever tells me. Also, they become part of some club the rest of us in the pack can’t belong to. Like they’re somehow more trustworthy than they were before the mating.”
“You sound sort of resentful about it. Something you want to discuss?” He shook his head. “No. Not ever.”
Elizabeth never needed to hear the tale of the time his brothers had taken him down and accused him of treason. Well, the second time they had. Who could keep track of how many times it had happened?
Not that he could blame them. They could probably smell the evil seeping out of his pores.
Chapter Six
Elizabeth stared out at the dark night from the relative safety of Rex’s stolen car. She was sure he’d done one of his “borrowing” tricks in order to get it, but seeing as she’d probably be dead if he hadn’t saved her, she didn’t feel like giving him a hard time about it. At least not for the moment .
In fact, she felt perfectly content to lie against him and not move at all. The slow and steady beat of his heart sounded in her ear from where her head pressed up against his chest. His arm brushed slightly over her hair. Every once in a while, when he would adjust the wheel, she would get to smell the masculine scent of his skin against hers.
In another life—if they were both just regular humans—she could really relax and just enjoy a drive through the country with her boyfriend. Instead, they were racing for their lives to get to Florida to avoid getting caught by the twins from hell.
“Your thoughts just became unpleasant.”
She looked up at his hard face. There was nothing soft about Rex. Even his jaw muscles looked tight. She wondered if he ever relaxed, even in sleep. Looking at him, she had to begrudgingly realize he would forever make all other men look weak and uninteresting. “My thoughts are my own.”
“I can smell your distress.”
She nodded. His nose again. “I was contemplating things, which of course made me think of the twins.”
“Tell me about them.”
“The twins? What’s to tell? They are spoiled and bratty. It’s weird to talk about them that way since they are grown women, but dealing with them is like dealing with children. They want what they want. Their mother makes sure they get it.” He nodded. “And when things go askew they punish you by using their magic since your own was suppressed thanks to the curse.”
“You’ve nailed it.”
She didn’t tell him about the beatings and the emotional abuse. Those were her secrets. The shame she hadn’t been able to protect herself from anything ever would stay with her for the rest of her life. For some reason, it felt pivotal to her Rex never knew that side of her.
Luck
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