“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I don’t think so, but it feels strange. We’ve been very isolated up to this point, so part of it is that, I think.” I’m going to have to get used to the feeling that there are great swathes of these men’s history unavailable to me, at least outside of sharing stories. We have the future, and that’s enough. It has to be. “I guess we’ll deal with it as it comes.”
Wolf walks back into the room, unhappiness in every line of his body. “She’s in LA right now, but she’s all too happy to dive into the chaos and do a little murder.” His voice goes up on the last part of the sentence, obviously mimicking his sister. “She’ll be here in about ten hours.”
Every hour is a risk at this point, but this delay is one we can’t avoid.
Wolf comes back to the table, but instead of reclaiming his chair, he sinks down onto the floor next to me. He puts his head in my lap and wraps his arms around my waist. I freeze. “Wolf?”
“I’m fine.”
He’s lying. Now that he’s touching me, the bond flares between us, soaked in his misery. I tentatively clasp the back of his neck and massage a little. He responds by going boneless, though his unhappiness doesn’t abate. I look at the other two men. “Someone explain this to me. Now, please.”
Rylan shifts. “Fifty years ago, Lizzie set Wolf on fire.”
“Excuse me?”
I know him well enough to recognize that his cold tone is a way of masking his emotions. He holds my gaze and continues. “They had a disagreement and she felt that was a reasonable way to deal with it. He almost died.”
The table creaks beneath Malachi’s hands. “You didn’t see fit to mention thatbeforewe called her.”
I get a sense of Rylan’s internal conflict through the bond, but none of it shows in his face or tone. “We don’t have any other options.”
I keep massaging Wolf’s neck and try to think past the fury that burns through me. “Tell her not to come. There has to be another way.”
“No other way.” Wolf speaks against my thigh. “She’s the best. If she helps, it’s a sure thing—at least that part of it.”
Killing my father is the top priority, but I never expected the cost to be so high. That feels very naive right now, with Wolf feeling so small and human against me. I want to protect him, to wrap him up and keep him safe, and that isn’t the world we live in. “It’s not worth the cost.”
He tightens his hold around my hips. “I’m fine,” he repeats.
He most assuredly isnotfine. Not when he’s clutching me like his favorite toy. I look to Malachi and Rylan for help, but they’re staring at each other and engaging in one of those silent arguments that I’m not a part of. Malachi is obviously furious they didn’t tell him what happened, and Rylan is clearly digging in his heels on his stance.
Huh. Apparently I can read them a lot better now, whether from the experience of being in close proximity for a few weeks or maybe as a side effect of the bond. Their argument ultimately won’t change anything. I have to go off what Wolf says. He’s my priority right now.
“Feels nice.”
I blink. “What?”
He shifts enough to look up at me out of one eye. “Being the priority. Wish it were better circumstances.”
Guilt slaps me hard enough to make me shake. “I’m sorry. I know I said it before, but things haven’t calmed down enough to talk about it. I’m sorry I compelled you.” Bad enough to do it, but then to simply not talk about it as if it’s beneath notice? I can’t believe I let it get this far. “Maybe now isn’t the time to talk about it…”
“Mina.”
The shock of him saying my name makes me tense. “Yes?”
“You’re strong.”
It’s such a random statement that I stare down at him blankly. “What?”
“Don’t apologize for being strong.”
I feel like we’re having two different conversations. “I’m not apologizing for being strong. I’m apologizing for forcing you to do something you didn’t want to do. Strong or not, it’s not right. I love you.” The last comes out in a rush. “I love all of you. I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t want to take your choices away. I shouldn’t have compelled you. Youarea priority to me.”
“Seems like a silly thing to apologize for.”
“Why would you say that?”
He straightens and wedges himself between my thighs. Wolf isn’t as tall as Rylan and Malachi, but he’s more than a few inches taller than me. We’re nearly the same height like this. He holds my gaze, his blue eyes strikingly serious. “If you hadn’t made that call and forced the issue, we’d still be in your father’s tender care. Call me unhinged all you want, but I’m not a fool. I underestimated you.” He gives a sharp grin that almost looks like the old Wolf. “Maybe I should be the one apologizing.”