Page 43 of Savagely Mated

“These are delicious,” I say, not quite making eye contact with Einar because I feel a little guilty now, like I’ve been acting badly in an unreasonable way. I’m finding out a lot about myself, and the world, and it’s hard to adjust when you’re used to being an asshole all the time.

“Excellent as always,” Rafe grins. “You never disappoint, Einar.”

At some point, Kirin drifts in, languid, beautiful, and wearing silk pajama bottoms and a robe that hangs open so I can see the bare lines of his chest. His natural elegance is so much at odds with the rougher ways I’ve seen him, like when I stole his burrito.

“Good morning,” he says.

I keep feeling shy all over again, and I don’t know why, and I kind of hate it, but it makes saying a simple good morning feel practically impossible. I watch him as he sits down, avoids the pancakes, and pours himself coffee.

He catches me looking at him and flickers me a little wink that makes me blush. What the hell is going on? Why is my body constantly in some state of erotic shock or tension around these men?

I know the answer, of course. They’re my mates. I am chemically addicted to them, basically. No matter what happens from this point on, we are bonded.

“We need to talk about your behavior,” Einar says to me.

Those words make my stomach sink. I don’t want a lecture right now. It makes me feel like I’m back at the academy, back being a disappointment.

“Can we just… not?”

“No.” He’s firm.

“Maybe that can be discussed later,” Rafe says.

“Maybe,” Einar agrees, with one sharp look at me.

I notice that Einar, in spite of being very much in charge, is letting Rafe call the shots in some respects. I wonder if this is how it always is. Seems to me that the dynamics are not as simple as they might first appear to be.

“I’m going to report you to the academy as being in my custody,” Einar says. “You can’t just disappear.”

“And they’re going to be okay with that?”

“Probably not, but I was an instructor there for many years, and it will at least assuage their concerns for your immediate physical safety.”

“You abducted me from there,” I point out. “You didn’t want them to know you had me. You didn’t care about their concerns for my physical safety.”

“That was before the bond happened,” he explains. “The plan, at first, was to take you for a few days or weeks, train you up, and send you back. You being our mate changed that.”

“Train me up to do what?”

They look at one another.

“Train me to do what?” I repeat.

It is Kirin who answers with a rare flashing smile.

“Kill the king.”

CHAPTER 12

Kirin

The color drains from her face, as she looks around at us one by one, little pieces of information no doubt clicking into place. There’s an explosion of motion as she comes to a conclusion and decides to get the hell out of here. Pancakes, syrup, and coffee go flying, landing on a rug.

Rafe grabs her as she tries to run, swinging her up off the floor and then sitting back down, cradling her in his lap. It’s fortunate she’s smaller than us, relatively speaking, or this would be a real fight.

“Calm down,” he says. “You’re not going to be hurt.”

“You’re the Blood. You’re a terrorist group!”

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