Page 78 of Blood Bonds

Getting to the deserted street and seeing our girl running for her life made me tense. But as my brother was about to make chase, I placed a hand on his chest and told him,

“Wait.”

“What fucking for? Until she gets to the Brooklyn Bridge?”

“I want to prove a theory I have… Nessa, stop!” I told him before shouting out my order. Instantly, she did as I suspected, halting her steps suddenly.

“What the fuck?” Tal asked, making me grin and say,

“You try it.”

He raised a brow before shouting out to her,

“Turn around and walk back toward us!” His eyes widened in shock as she did just that. The fear on her face was easy for us to see thanks to our advanced eyesight.

“Please… please just let me go,”she pleaded, even as she continued to walk toward us.

“She isn’t just submissive,” my brother assumed, making me shake my head and agree.

“No, she is compelled,” I replied with a hardened jaw.

“A witch?” Tal asked, and again this thought was troubling enough to have me clenching my teeth. The sight of her walking toward us was now tainted, just like all other times I thought back to her easy compliance. No wonder she had struggled the way she had.

“Have Andras reach out to our own, I want her assessed to discover the source and see if they can detect a known signature.”

Tal nodded, knowing what this meant.

We could have a little spy in our midst, one we didn’t just want to fuck but one we wanted to keep. Because it didn’t change facts, she was our Fated, regardless. But it did mean that she had been targeted because of it. As if someone had recognized who she was to us before we had the chance to.

She was being used as a pawn.

Fucking heads would roll.

I tried to get a lid on the furious thought by the time she approached, so as not to add to her fear of me. The second she came close enough, I reached out and curled my arm around her waist to draw her into my frame. The shuddered breath she released was a mix of relief and distress.

“Oh Firefly,”I said as I felt her start to cry softly against me, her head buried in my chest as I cupped the back of her head to me. But then she pulled back and those big, tearful eyes of hers nearly undid me.

“Why… why did you have to do that?”

I knew what she referred to, which is why I told her the truth.

“You weren’t supposed to see that, Sweetheart.” My brother then tipped her head his way while he told her,

“No one hurts you and gets away with it.”

Her eyes filled again before overflowing, making my brother take them away with his thumbs. Then she shook her head free of his hold and said,

“This hurts me… so who is going to punish the both of you?” I nearly laughed at her bold statement, but it was my brother who replied perfectly.

“Seeing the tears we bring you is punishment enough.”

She closed her eyes, as if it was all too much.

“Please don’t kill him,” she said, making me tense, my growl slipping through before I could stop it. My arms tightened the moment she tried to break free of me.

“How is it possible you could still care for someone who caused you so much pain?” Tal asked, because I didn’t have the strength to without snarling.

“I don’t care about him. I just don’t want his death on my hands.” I scoffed at that, causing her to shoot me a distasteful look.

---