Page 336 of Primal Bonds

“You can say it—I won’t break. Corban Savonett was behind my kidnapping. And—” she swallowed, then lifted her chin—“it was because of him I was raped by those bastards.”

Dragging in a breath, he forced the words past the hot ball in his throat. “I’m sorry. So fucking sorry.”

“Damn it, Ric.” She jerked away to glare at him. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. It. Wasn’t. Your. Fault.”

He kept his gaze on where they were going so he wouldn’t have to meet her eyes. Heavy gray clouds had blotted out the sun, bleaching color from the Formstone rowhouses that marched up either side of the street. It was going to snow later.

“I’m alpha. I should’ve known what was going down.”

“Stop it.” Marjani punched his shoulder. Hard. “Just stop, already. They fooled me, too. I thought Shania was my friend. I agreed to meet her at that bar. I was stupid enough to get drugged.”

“You would never have been attacked if not for me. Corban targeted you because I was alpha. That’s the only reason.” He drew a breath between clenched teeth. “And I didn’t even know until the next morning.”

By then, she’d been given by Corban and his people to a den of sick river fada. They’d smashed her quartz, leaving her hurting and defenseless, and then proceeded to gang-rape her. She might have disappeared forever if not for Tiago do Rio, who’d been kidnapped along with her. Somehow do Rio had resisted the drug enough to fight back.

And Adric hadn’t known until it was too late.

“It’s over.” She gave him a shake. “I need you to accept that. It’s hard, I know.” Her throat worked. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “But it’s over, and I’m okay. And I’m working on putting it behind me. Because I will not let those motherfuckers ruin my life. But I can’t if you’re still beating yourself up about it.”

“I’m sorry.” He smoothed his palms up and down her arms. “I’ll try, okay?”

“You do that.” She opened her arms and he came into them.

And then they had their arms wrapped tight around each other, rocking back and forth. Adric’s throat ached with unshed tears. He gulped them down. For the first time in forever, he let himself take comfort from his sister instead of giving it.

When she released him, her cheeks were wet. She wiped them away with the sleeve of her hoodie. She sniffed. “They’re happy tears.”

He eyed her doubtfully. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She gave a watery chuckle. “Come to dinner tonight? Beau’s cooking.”

He managed to smile back, because that’s what she needed from him. “In that case, I’m there.” The bear shifter loved to cook, and his Louisianan mama had taught him well.

She gave him another hard hug and then they separated—her to meet up with Fane, him to inform Nash of his promotion to lieutenant.

His cousin could barely contain his excitement. Like Corban, he was tall and good-looking with close-cut black hair. But the resemblance ended there. Corban had been a tight-lipped, calculating man, while Nash had warm brown eyes and a ready smile.

“You won’t regret it. You’ll see.” Nash stepped toward Adric, arms outstretched, and then hesitated, head cocked to one side to expose his throat. His wolf demonstrating its complete loyalty and trust.

Adric pulled him into a hug and gently bit the offered throat, acknowledging and accepting that trust. “You have to pass the trial period first.”

“Don’t worry.” Nash nuzzled Adric’s cheek, marking him and being marked. “I will.”

Adric gave Nash’s head a rub, just like when they were kids and Nash was the little cousin who idolized him. “You know what? I think you will, too. Report to Jani tomorrow. She’ll bring you up to speed.”

After that, Adric crisscrossed Baltimore. Checking in with the various dens. Spreading the word about Luc and the night fae. Reassuring the cubs, who’d picked up on the adults’ tension. At least he could throw in the good news about Nash, too.

Doing what an alpha did, because his conscience wouldn’t let him leave without making sure everyone and everything was as ready as possible.

Dinner was a rowdy affair. A dozen clan members squeezed around Jace’s big plank table. They laughed and talked over one another, drank beer, passed bread and salad. Gorged themselves on Beau’s truly excellent shrimp étouffée.

Beneath the table, Tigger bumped his head against Adric’s leg. He scratched the cat behind his ears and watched approvingly as his sister devoured a good-sized helping of the shrimp étouffée.

Fane had taken the seat by Adric. He glanced over to see the other man watching Marjani, too, a smile on his narrow, good-looking face.

Fane turned his head toward Adric, and their eyes met.

Adric drew a breath. He’d accepted the other man into the clan for Jani’s sake, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it. Not only was Fane a quarter fae, he’d been one of King Sindre’s envoys, a trusted member of the ice fae court. The blond mixed-blood was as wily as they came.

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