Page 53 of Crimson Shifter

“She has to remain alive,” Ajax said, and I growled at my brother for the first time in a century.

“You have no idea what she’s done to Cassandra,” I snapped. “Her throat belongs to me.”

“Tough shit,” Hawk said. “She knows everything Edward knows, and thanks to your little girlfriend, he's dead. She's the last one with the information we need. She lives.”

They don't give me time to argue my case, and before I knew what was happening, we'd wended back to the king's residence. We reported on the mission, the battle, and the absolute shit show the last few hours had been.

“Talon,” Zachariah said after we'd reported to the king. “We need to talk.” Zachariah motioned to my other brothers, who were waiting for me at the end of the hallway ready to go into the war room.

I looked back at Cassandra, whose eyes were pleading. “I know we need to talk about what happened,” I said.

“I didn't betray you,” she said, almost as if she was trying to convince everybody within earshot. “I would never?—"

“We'll have to talk about this later,” I said, and turned away from her even though it felt like it might kill me. I knew it wasn't the time. The last thing I wanted to do was hash out what happened with my brothers within earshot. What Cassandra and I needed to speak about was between me and her and nobody else.

And for now, she’d have to be okay with that.

CHAPTER 18

Cassandra

“So, they're interrogating her right now?” Jocelyn asked from where she sat on the loveseat next to Lyric, across from me in one of many lounge rooms in the king's residence.

“They are,” I said, wondering what type of restraint Talon was able to show while interrogating my mother.

Thankfully all of his brothers were with him and would stop him for ruining their chance at getting information. They'd get it out of her. My mother's survival instincts ran deep, and she would give up any information it took to keep herself alive.

“Damn,” Lyric said, shaking her head. “That must be hard knowing it's your mother?—"

“It's not,” I cut off the queen. “I hate her. If I could kill her myself, I would. But I know that she has valuable information.”

“Probably loads of it that will keep our mates on missions for the foreseeable future.”

I swallowed hard, guilt and worry eating me from the inside out. Annika, Olivia's niece, sat in a high wingback chair just across from me and the other females, looking at me with a sort of compassion that I hadn’t seen in a long time.

I absentmindedly stroked the mating mark that I knew resided beneath the fabric of my loose-fitting cotton pants. “Do you think he'll forgive me?” I asked the question that had been haunting me since Talon left my side. Since he went with his brothers and left things so unsettled between us.

I had no idea if he believed me. If he understood why I'd said and did what I had. And I hated feeling so unsure.

“He's your mate,” Annika said, her voice almost whimsical as she said the wordmate. “He has to forgive you. Every mate forgives every mistake, right?” she asked, looking at Jocelyn and Lyric. “That's how it is in all the wonderful stories about mating.”

Jocelyn and Lyric chuckled darkly.

“Oh, honey,” Jocelyn said. “Having a mate isn't exactly like all the stories.”

My shoulders dropped, the worry intensifying.

“It's a partnership,” Lyric added, looking at me. “It's not about him forgiving you simply because you're his mate. You guys have to communicate. You have to be on the same page. Fate may have bonded you together, but your compassion for each other is what's going to make this work.”

I nodded at my queen, silently sending every ounce of gratitude I could her way. I’d told her about the information I'd given Edward in order to make him believe I was on his side, and she’d forgiven me instantly, as was her nature. And I'm sure the only reason why Alek hadn't slaughtered me is because I had killed the one person I’d told.

We settled into a comfortable silence, each of us sipping a soothing herbal tea that the queen had made as we waited. And when the door creaked open, my heart leaped into my throat with the hopes that it was Talon.

It wasn't.

Aurora looked miles better than she had when she’d first been brought to the king's residence. The poor innocent girl had been forcefully turned by Samuel, Saint’s twin brother. He’d inflicted an insurmountable amount of psychological torture to her in the process, but she’d somehow found the strength to leave her chambers, which was an act of courage that was admirable.

“Sorry,” she said after scanning the room. “I'm looking for the vampire who takes away the nightmares,” she said, her voice a little listless and her eyes a little wandering. That madness clung to her even now, despite the progress she’d made.

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