“No,” he said firmly. “No buts. You heard what Marcus said the other day about his sister and why his dad kept her secret and how the Council took her away from her family. What he didn’t tell you, what he left out because he didn’t want to scare you, was that the Council was trying to convince her to join with a coven. They had covens come to meet her, to offer her things. Money and shit, you name it and they probably offered it to her. She didn’t want any of it. How could she have when she had been raised in hiding by her father and told that the covens way with girls is wrong, sick even. My father met her once and he told me she was a fucking head case, Ariel. The thought of being in a coven full of men terrified her. The Elders didn’t care, they wanted her in a coven, even if it was one they had to hand pick for her. They thought if she joined a group, it would be the safest place for her and the best way to introduce her to our way of doing things. She freaked, slit her wrists and bled out in a bathtub. We’re not supposed to talk about it because the Council doesn’t like to be reminded of that black mark against them. But it happened, Ariel. They took her from her home, a teenage girl, tried to force something on her that she did not want, and she killed herself to escape it. I’m not saying that’s going to happen to you, I’m not saying that situation is anything like yours, and I’m not trying to scare you. But you need to know what we are up against here and you need to listen to me.”
My mouth had gone dry while he was talking. I swallowed, tasting the bile that had slowly made its way up my throat.
Please, don’t let me puke on Quinton.
I had known the ending of Mr. Cole’s sister, something I knew had been kept from me for a reason, had been tragic and heartbreaking. But nothing had prepared me for this. Poor Mr. Cole, my heart broke for him. Letting him go, after hearing this, was going to be so much harder now. I wanted to stick with him, keep him close so I could keep him safe. He needed someone to protect him from himself. Obviously, he made horrible decisions when left on his own and he gave too much, too freely.
I took in a deep, shuddering breath as I pushed all thoughts of Mr. Cole to the side. There was a time and a place for everything and this wasn’t the right time for me to be worried about him. I would do that later when I was alone and not afraid to cry.
Right now, there were more important things to stress about. Like this Council of Elders. I felt like the guys had been lying to me about these people.
“But, you said-”
Quinton leaned down, getting in my face.
“No buts,” he growled. “And, honestly, Ariel? What would you have done if you were us? Scare you with the truth about these people? I don’t think so. We wanted you to want to stay with us, not run away screaming.”
He kissed my forehead and abruptly let me go. He stepped back, taking his heat with him.
Looking over my shoulder, he completely ignored me and spoke to Dash. It was like he said what he had to say to me and now I was dismissed, he was moving on. Quinton could be quite a jerk at times.
I did not like being ignored which was something I was just now learning about myself.
“She’s yours, for now, but I will be coming back to get her later. Since she’s moving in with you, you’ve got no room to bitch at me for coming back to get her. Tell her whatever you want to about the Council and you better damn well make sure nothing happens to her.”
Dash and I both scowled at him as he walked out the door.
Chapter Thirteen
Fingertips trailed lightly down my spine, making me jump. I let out an embarrassing squeak, loud and girly. As soon as it left my mouth I desperately wished I could stuff it back inside. It was a sound that should never, not ever come out of me when in the presence of other people.
Placing my hand on my chest to slow down my beating heart, I shuffled to the side and whirled to face him. I think he sniffed my hair before I could put some space between us. How weird was that?
“What are you doing?” I breathed out.
Some of them were getting far too comfortable with touching me. Dash shouldn’t have been one of them. He didn’t even like me and he had no business touching me.
“Hey,” he said in a low voice as he held his hands out in front of him, palms towards me. “I didn’t mean to scare you and I’m sorry that I did. You don’t have anything to be afraid of while you’re here with me. I promise. I’m going to be the perfect gentlemen.”
If I wasn’t so embarrassed by that hideous noise I had made I would have rolled my eyes at the word promise. Here was another one. And I didn’t know this one well enough to trust his word yet.
“You startled me,” I whispered, which was the truth. Did I tell him not to touch me again? No. Did I tell him I had embarrassed myself? Nope. Not his concern on the last and I didn’t want to be mean with the first.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
He looked harmless and contrite standing there with his hands up and the worried look on his face.
I was beginning to feel bad about my reaction to him touching me. It wasn’t that he’d touched me. Honestly, I had forgotten about him even being there. It had more to do with someone coming up behind me without me knowing they were there and not hearing them approach. It had freaked me out.
“Are we good?” He asked as he lowered his hands.
I nodded, silently telling him that, yes, we were good.
He scratched his jaw, itching at his beard in what looked like a nervous gesture. I was glad to not be the only one uncomfortable in this situation. Not nice, I know, but it was the absolute truth.
“Are you hungry?” he asked awkwardly as he continued to play with his facial hair.
I shrugged a shoulder casually and said, “I don’t know.”