Page 51 of Shattered Illusion

“It’s more than a crush, bloodsucker,” he growls as a flash of lighting lights up the darkening sky as storm clouds quickly rush in. If I don’t diffuse his temper soon, we’ll have a supercell thunderstorm on our hands. “She’s my fucking mate.”

“Wha…” My mouth drops open, and I’m stuck speechless by his revelation.

Bailey is his…mate.

I swear a deafening crack rents the air as my heart splits in two at the news. She… Fuck. She was my second chance at happiness. Hell. My first chance at true happiness since my soulmate was a psycho bitch.

“Are you—” He cuts me off with a wave of his hand.

“Yes. I’m sure.”

My elbows slam into the top of my desk, and I drop my face in hands, trying to mask all the emotions tumbling around inside of me at this news. Loss is the biggest one. Loss of what could have been. Followed closely by devastation.

“Axe.” I lift my head, and whatever he sees on my face makes him flinch. The impending storm fades away as all traces of darkness leave his blue eyes clear as the day outside. “I… fuck. I saw her kiss you yesterday before you guys left. And, well,” he looks down at his hands and shakes his head, “I wanted to fucking jump out of the window and kill you. But then I saw just how happy she made you, and I couldn’t be mad. Not at you, and not at her.” He pauses, seeming to collect his thoughts. “I won’t give her up. I’ve wanted my soulmate my whole life, but I won’t make you give her up either.”

My mouth opens and closes for something to say to his words, but every fleeting thought escapes me. The only thing that seems to stick in my head is the fact that he won’t make me give her up.

“She’s going to need both of us, Axel. And with the whole Hudson-mate thing, it’s obvious that her powers far exceed what we originally thought. More mates, more power balancing in the long run. And I couldn’t think of a better man, vampire or otherwise, to share a mate with.”

Fuck. The big bastard is going to make me cry if he keeps talking like that. Luka and I have been around the block a time or two, but this is the first time he’s put someone else’s wants before his own.

A reply is thick on my tongue, but my words are halted by the telltale pop of a portal. It barely forms before two flaming pink bodies fall through, hitting the ground hard enough that even I wince at the impact.

Luka is on his feet before my mind can fully process what’s happening. It’s not until a whimper that’s all too familiar hits myears that I spring into action. By now, the flames have subsided, and two girls cling to each other on the floor of my office, trembling and crying.

“Godde—” Luka’s words aren’t even fully out of his mouth when Bailey releases the girl on the floor and flings herself into his arms. He catches her with an oomph, holding her shaky frame to him like he could protect her from anything.

As much as I’d love to be in his position, there’s someone else here who needs the same comfort—or some level of it.

My knees crack as I crouch down, softly running my hand up and down the back of the sobbing girl on the floor. Fear percolates within that she was burned by Bailey’s flames, but the distinct burnt flesh smell is absent.

Watery, golden eyes peer up at me, and her bottom lip trembles as she asks me, “Is Bailey okay?”

“Can you tell me what happened…” I trail off, not knowing who this is. Hell, I don’t even know where they came from. A quick peek at Bailey confirms her glamour is still intact, so they could have been anywhere.

“Marion,” she murmurs with a sigh, sitting up and scooting across the floor until her back meets the couch. She rubs her hands across her body, seeming to deflate as she realizes she’s unharmed from their flaming entry. “It’s…hard to explain. We were at the city mall and stopped to get smoothies. Bailey said she was running to the bathroom, but she was gone forever.”

“You’re doing really good, Marion.” I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile to continue.

“After I finished in the line and realized she wasn’t back yet, I went to the bathroom to get her. You know, thinking maybe she fell in or something.” She chokes out a humorless chuckle. “But when I opened the door,” her whole body shudders, “some troll was trying to ki–kill her.”

I have to swallow hard to keep the feral hiss in my throat from emerging. A fucking troll. But why targetcor meum? They don’t have the ability to see through glamours.

“Okay. Good, Marion. Thank you. What happened after that?”

Her dark brows pinch together as she gazes over to Bailey still in Luka’s arms. He’s whispering words against her forehead that don’t make any sense, but the relief that she’s here is more than apparent.

“I…I don’t really know. Bailey mouthed the words I’m sorry, and then flames took over her body, and we ended up here.”

“And the troll?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “Hopefully dead.” Her words earn a loud whimper from Bailey.

“Thank you, Marion. Is there someone I can call to pick you up?”

Marion fumbles with the purse I now see dangling from her shoulder. “I can call my brother.”

“Okay, I can talk to him when he gets here if you’d like.”

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