Page 80 of Ruthlessly Mated
“Two, maybe three days ago?”
“Maybe,” I admit, tears leaking from my eyes.
“Don’t run away from us,” he murmurs.
“I won’t. I promise.”
Conroy’s hand comes down on the back of my neck. He yanks me back out of Damon’s arms and turns me to look at him. He’s pissed. The sort of pissed you get when you disobey a warrior in the middle of a battle.
“No,” he says. “You won’t.”
His tone makes me cringe internally. He makes me feel so incredibly guilty. Goddamn it. I wish I was like Alexander. I wish I could just shake all these feelings off and tell anybody who dared question me that I can do what I want, no matter what it is. But I can’t. I’m their mate, and my biology reacts to them. I am so fucking aroused and so guilty and I feel so small.
Conroy’s fingers curl in the back of my hair. He pulls me back against him, and he puts his hand underneath my chin and wraps his fingers loosely around my neck.
“You are due a long, hard reckoning,” he says. “And you are going to get it.”
A whimpering moan escapes my lips as I realize just how much visceral trouble I am in. I am not going to get away with anything. I thought I was, because I was managing to go from troublesome situation to troublesome situation, but thisis giving some final destination find out what all the fucking around gets you vibes and it is making my stomach quiver.
Damon curls an arm around my waist and snugs me back toward him, giving Conroy what I hope is a warning look. We are still very close to a lot of conflict. At any moment, people could come pouring out of the city and kill us. That would probably save me a lot of the pain I have coming.
“I am so glad to see you,” I say. “I wish you weren’t here. I’m sorry. I wish none of you were here.”
“You didn’t get me shot,” he says. “It was unrelated aggression. Don’t blame yourself for this.”
He seems to be talking to me, but he’s mostly looking at Conroy. I wonder what arguments they had between them, or will yet have. I wonder how Damon found us. He wasn’t part of the original abduction. I kind of wish he’d stayed back out of the fray. It was making me feel a little better knowing that at least one of us would survive.
It occurs to me that I might be able to talk Conroy out of his anger. This was a successful mission, in the sense that the feud with Alexander is at an end for the moment, and he does not need to worry about a terribly evil vampire coming for him or me or anyone else.
“I’m sorry. I am. I am very sorry. I know I fucked up,” I apologize as we escape the danger at what amounts to a slow stroll.
“People died, Kita,” he says.
I don’t know what to say, so I say something stupid.
“That’s what people do.”
He frowns at me. “You’re not like this. This isn’t you. You’ve been running on guilt and sugar since I met you, and now you don’t care about people dying?”
“I care. I just don’t want to feel guilty from you in addition to the guilt I already feel.”
“We are going to teach you a lesson, Kita. We are going to breed you until we are certain you are going to bear our pups. There will be no adventures. There will be no feuds. There will be no wars. There will be you and our cocks, and your chaotic little pussy filled with our seed.”
I feel immensely guilty as I am taken from the apocalyptic aftermath of the battle for the maker’s heart.
They’re right. And I was right too. This is all my fault. This has all been my fault for a very long time. If I consider my body count, it’s in the hundreds, maybe thousands. Alexander is a monster, but I am one too. I am barely trustworthy for anything. I bet I could turn making a sandwich into a war crime.
The car is not far away. The same one Damon got shot in, but it has been modified with armored plates to be less likely to allow us to be shot while in it.
I am put in the back between Damon and Tailor. Conroy is driving. I hope that means he will be focusing on the road, avoiding roadblocks, landmines, and ambushes.
“Hey,” I say to Tailor. “Good fight?”
Tailor gives me a sexyyou know you’re fuckedsmirk. I give him amercy pleaselook. He shakes his head just a fraction at me. He’s not going to save me.
“Damon has organized a safehouse for us,” Conroy says. “When we get there, there’s no leaving. If I call your name at any point, and you don’t come running, you’re getting your ass spanked and fucked. Understand? I swear to god, Kita, the running around doing whatever you feel like doing thing is over. I will put a fucking leash on you if I have to.”
I sink down in the back seat between Tailor and Damon, knowing they probably agree with Conroy, they’re just letting him be the big bad wolf.
