Page 27 of Love Bites Extra Hard

“Why not?”

“Fate does what she wants.”

“You believe fate’s a person?”

“No. But it’s obviously a romantic, considering it pairs people together like they’re soulmates, so it seems more like a woman. Not many men are into the cupid thing.”

I nodded. “How much time do you spend down here?”

She focused on the bag of trail mix she was picking granola out of. “Too much.”

I didn’t push.

If she wanted to tell me more, she would.

“He only took one woman a year, for the first few years,” she finally said. “It didn’t escalate until he and I were together. We lost five women, in five years—and twelve in the next five. I should’ve connected the dots. Realized where he was going when he said he was visiting his family in Mistwood. I should’ve put it together sooner.”

“How did you finally find out?”

She laughed humorlessly. “I tried to surprise him with lunch on his day off work, but he wasn’t home. When I went to Mistwood and asked his family where he was, they hadn’t seen him. They mentioned that he had a house on the outskirts of the city, though. None of them knew the address. I went home and searched our place for any record of it, but couldn’t find anything. I asked Talon to help me find it. I thought he was cheating on me—I never imagined the truth.”

Her voice hardened. “He talked to the other kings, and Bane managed to get into the city’s records. He found the address. Talon and I went there together, and found the bastard’s last victim’s body on a table. Her blood was everywhere. He was already on his way back to our Manor, so we flew after him like we were fucking possessed, and took him down as soon as we got here. He couldn’t even put up a fight against our magic. We’re too strong. But we couldn’t prevent him from shifting, or force him to shift back. He’s been down here ever since.”

“And you have, too?”

She made a noise of agreement. “I was the one closest to him. I should’ve put it together. This is how I pay back my ignorance.”

I could understand why she thought that way. She reminded me of my sisters too much not to. And hadn’t I blamed myself for the shit in my past, too?

I couldn’t let her keep pinning everything on herself, though. Not without trying to help her realize that she wasn’t to blame, at least.

“His family knew about the house in Mistwood and never visited. Is it their fault?” I asked.

She frowned. “Of course not.”

“You were both a part of a friend group. Is it their fault for not connecting the dots? I’m sure he disappeared sometimes back then, too.”

Her frown deepened. “We always thought he just needed time alone. He was introverted.”

“And if he had been anyone else, that could’ve been entirely true. It’s not your fault for believing that someone you had known and been intimate with for so long was a good person. Or at least not this shitty.” I nodded toward the cell door. “If you had known sooner, you would’ve stopped him sooner. Don’t punish yourself by staying down here all the time.”

She was silent for a few minutes, still digging out granola. When she passed me a handful, I reluctantly started eating it.

I’d never really liked granola, but food was food, and I was hungry.

“We’re going to need a new plan,” Stella eventually said. “A better one. You can’t repeat that performance against the cell over and over, can you?”

“Not without feeding on someone over and over. I’m tapped out.”

She nodded. “Talon’s the only option for that, and you guys can’t just sit down here and screw. He’d probably keep losing his shit, too. So, new plan.”

“I could feed on anyone,” I countered.

“Right.” Her voice said she didn’t agree, but she didn’t start an argument about it. “I’m thinking we turn it into a long game. If we can keep him affected by your magic hour after hour, day after day, he’s going to feel like he’s losing his mind. No one would expect a siren to put forth that kind of effort.”

“So you’re calling me lazy, and you’re weirdly okay with your brother’s possessiveness,” I said, though I wasn’t genuinely offended. My sister Zora handled things similarly to the way Stella seemed to, though she didn’t have the guns to back it up like Stella did.

“No to the first one, but yes to the second.”

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