Page 52 of Sinful Mates

“They don’t love me?” Heartache in her voice split me in two.

All my men sucked in air. Hardened criminals. Fearless men who took lives. Men armed with guns and knives in battle. Bloodied, bruised, cut men, who barely made a gripe of pain when injured. Yet a little child brought agony crashing down. Or maybe it was mine blended with theirs. At that moment, I couldn’t tell.

I inched my chair closer to hers, cuddling her. “That’s not it at all, honey.” I rested my cheek on the top of her head and stroked her inky hair. “They loved you so much.”

Support flooded the bond for Mia and me. Slade twitched, eager to move and come and hold us. Soothing words twisted on Castor’s tongue. Zethan remained calm for us all, our rock. Alaric’s bond rocked like mine with the rough sea, him keeping us steady and afloat.

“Where’s my mom and dad?” Warm tears dropped on my wrist.

Shit. No getting around it now. She deserved to know. This fantasy bubble was always bound to burst, and I hated to be the one to pierce it.

“They’re gone, honey.” I squeezed her tighter. “Gone to sleep. Forever.”

“They’re dead?” Mia’s sobs shook my body, each one like a lightning bolt striking me.

My God, she was smart. Had her parents given her the death talk? Lost someone they loved and taken her to a funeral?

Most of my men let out their breath. Only Zethan still held his, immovable and stony as death. I finally appreciated the difficult position Slade was backed into with the club.

“Yes, baby.” I stroked her hair as she sobbed in my arms.

“Why did they go to sleep?” Mia was full of too many questions I didn’t have answers for.

Because of me.Words curled back into my throat and vanished on my next swallow.

Only I placed the amnesiac barrier over her mind to trap those memories. She was too young to know the full extent of the story, and I’d hide it from her as long as I could. Until she was old enough to understand and process the trauma. Knowing that her parents died because of me would ruin her and destroy our relationship. I just couldn’t do that to her. The selfish part of me refused to let that go.

Zethan took over for me, sliding from his seat and crouching beside Mia and me, and I was grateful I didn’t have to teach her this. “It was their time to say goodbye, darlin’.” He tenderly circled her back, prompting her to look up.

“Why?” Damn all these hard questions. I felt helpless to answer them.

A raw ache struck the bond that threatened to sever it. “Some people come into your life for a short time. They love you. Care for you. Then they say goodbye because it’s the gods’ will.”

My eyebrows cocked, telling him the gods was not a story for a seven-year-old even if it was the kid-friendly version of death.

Mia laid on more questions. “Will I fall asleep?”

Zethan gave her a grim smile and ticked her hair over her ear. “One day, darlin’. Not for a long time yet.”

I kicked him with my heel.

“I don’t want to fall asleep!” Mia wailed and buried her face in his chest, and he cradled her.

Goddess.Casting her into nightmare world was exactly what I sought to avoid.

Castor’s chair creaked as he came to a stand. “Come on, Sot Nesu. Let’s go read Harry Potter.”

“I don’t want to go to bed.” Her tiny fists gripped Zethan’s shirt. “The gods will make me fall asleep forever.”

Fuck. No!I scrambled for the right story for her to understand how death worked, but I didn’t want to scare her further.

Alaric’s bond rocked as the emotional storm raged within us. “The gods won’t make you fall asleep. I’ll protect you from them.”

He lifted her out of her seat and tucked her to his body and she wrapped herself around him as if hugging a tree.

I was so glad I had him to take over. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and I was an emotional wreck.

“Grab two chairs, sheets, a pillow, and a flashlight,” he ordered me, carrying her to her room.

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