Page 20 of Midnight Deception

I still feel awful, and if it were any of my other mates, then I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. It’s justhimI have a problem with. However, the quickness in which the sickness came over me scared me. I felt like I was unravelling, and I never want to feel that way again. Putting aside my pride, I release a long, reluctant sigh and turn my withering glare to Atlas.

“If you think you’re sleeping in this bed with me, then you’re crazy.” I mean to sound firm and unmoving on this, but the effect is ruined by my croaking, raspy voice. Clearing my throat and wincing at the pain, I continue. “Just because we’ve been fated to be together and you’re staying here doesn’t mean we’re going to have sex.”

Snorting, he pulls a face like I just suggested he bathe in offal, managing to look both disgusted and horrified. “Don’t worry, I have no desire to fuck you, wolf.”

Liar. I can feel his desire even though our bond is incomplete and muffled by the magic surrounding me. Now that’s an interesting development—not that I want to have sex with him. I’m sure that it’s his bond that’s pushing him towards me, but even so, he’s still here, helping me. When I first met him yesterday, I never would have thought he’d help me in any way, especially if I was suffering.

“Well, now that that’s settled, I’m going to leave the two of you alone.” Luna stands, snapping me from my glaring match with Atlas. Glancing over, I find her pointing at me, wearing a warning look that tells me there will be hell to pay if I don’t listen to her. “You need to rest. Listen to your body and your bond. And you…” She turns a pointed look to her cousin. “Try not to be too much of an ass.”

Eyes wide, I silently plead with her not to leave me alone with him here. She just smirks and gives me a little wave before leaving the room. I don’t know how we’re going to get through the night without killing each other. Slowly, and with more effort than I care to admit, I shuffle across the bed and away from his body. Everything still hurts, and even that simple movement has exhausted me. Unfortunately, as soon as his touch leaves my body, I feel the madness start to return and groan as a wave of nausea rolls through me. While the idea of throwing up all over Atlas is appealing, I know it will make my headache ten times worse.

Sighing, he reaches out and takes my hand, linking it with his. I sink back against the pillow in relief, my eyes sliding closed as my exhaustion takes over, pulling me into sleep.

ChapterEight

As I stare down at the sleeping werewolf in my arms, I feel my resolve slip. It’s difficult to hate someone who looks so fucking angelic. All the pain and worldly stress disappears as she slumbers, lost in her dreams.

The bond in my chest hums with pleasure at having her so close, and I only just manage to catch myself before I lean down to bury my face in her hair. Her scent is intoxicating, and despite only a fraction of the bond breaking through the magical block placed around her, the pull is… almost unbearable. How am I going to cope when the block is removed?

There’s no denying that she’s gorgeous, and if she were a full-blooded witch, I’d be overjoyed that she was my mate. She’s also from a powerful family line, and her magic is supposed to be otherworldly. I should be envied by all of witchkind, but when I look at her, I just see a murdering werewolf.

Memories of the past break through the usually ironclad boundaries I have surrounding my past, especially ofthosedays. Flashes of teeth and claws, a cry of pain, and the sight of blood everywhere.

No, I can’t afford to get lost in the past again. My hands tighten into fists, my magic chilling the air around us as I try to lock down my emotions.

My mate shivers in my arms, and I sigh, recalling my magic and rubbing the exposed skin on her arms to warm her up. I need to have better control, especially around her. Staring down at her once more, I shake my head and wonder what the great goddess was thinking when she paired us together.

* * *

When I return to consciousness, it takes me a moment to sink into my own body. Warmth surrounds me, and as I slowly swim through the fogginess of sleep, a small, content smile settles over my lips as a delicious, addictive smell greets me. It’s masculine and fresh, and I can’t help inhaling a deep lungful with a satisfied hum. Snuggling deeper, I shift my position as something hard presses against my backside. I wiggle a little more, trying to find a comfortable position. I don’t remember this bed being so lumpy and rigid before, but I had pretty much instantly fallen asleep the previous night when I’d cried out all of my emotions.

“If you keep doing that, then we might have to revisit your no sex rule.”

Eyes jerking open, I realise with horror why the bed feels different and exactly what the hard object pressing against me is. Twisting around with a sense of dread, I look up into Atlas’s face. He looks exhausted, but he’s wearing a cocky smile that practically oozes sex.

Scrambling out of his lap, I stumble to my feet, almost collapsing in a heap on the floor in the process before I steady myself against the bed.Smooth. My bond is protesting at the lack of physical connection, but I shove it to the back of my mind, ordering it to behave. Atlas’s expression doesn’t change, but he slowly leans forward, his gaze dark as his eyes run over my body, as though he can feel my desire for him. It’s an entirely physical response. I definitely don’t want to fuck him, despite how much my body craves his and how gorgeous he is. Heat pools low in my belly, and my thighs rub together to ease some of the pressure before I realise what I’m doing and force myself to stop. Of course he spots this, and his smirk turns satisfied.

I have no idea why this seems to please him so much when he’s made it pretty clear how he feels about me. Pursing my lips, I narrow my eyes. “I thought you didn’t want to have sex with me,” I accuse, my voice scathing as I repeat his words from before. “Don’t I disgust you?”

He shifts in the bed, the movement making his shirt open a little and exposing a tattoo creeping up from his chest. Pulling my eyes from the flash of skin, I meet his gaze and find him frowning. “You don’t disgust me, you’re a beautiful woman. It’s the idea of being with a werewolf that…” He shudders, and I grind my teeth at the anger that quickly replaces my desire for him. “And don’t worry, it’s just because it’s morning, and I’ve had a hot female in my arms all night.” He attempts to wave off the fact that I woke up to his hard dick pressing against me. “Don’t take it personally.”

Of course, that’s exactly what I do. What a fucking tool. He’s so prejudiced against werewolves that it’s all he sees when he looks at me. Not part witch, not a young woman, not his mate, but a werewolf, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change. I certainly won’t be letting him anywhere near me in that way while he has these views. I’m sure the sex would be amazing, but then I’d be fully bonded to someone who hates me. It was bad enough with my other two mates when they first realised what I was to them. I was the outcast, and in their minds, I’d committed the greatest sin—using magic and outing myself as a witch. Their distrust of me was nothing compared to Atlas’s hatred though.

Snorting at his comment, I cross my arms over my chest, my face giving away my disgust. “Are you this vile to all women, or do you save it for half-witches?” I feel restless and wish I didn’t feel too weak to pace the length of the room or dosomethingto get rid of this feeling. I need some sort of outlet that isn’t jumping his bones.

Atlas just smiles as if he knows exactly where my train of thought went and crosses his arms too, mirroring my action. It makes me want to snarl, and I wish Star was here to back me up. It becomes pretty clear that he’s not going to answer my question, so I switch topics. “Why was I in your lap anyway?”

“Hey, it had nothing to do with me.” He holds up his hands to protest his innocence with a raised brow. “You seemed to be having a nightmare. You were making noises and thrashing around in the bed like you were looking for something. I called your name, and you looked right at me, but I could see you weren’t really awake.” He frowns as he gets lost in the memory. “Before I could do anything else, you pulled me onto the bed and clambered into my lap. As soon as I wrapped my arms around you, you fell back into a deep sleep.”

Well, that’s embarrassing. All of my anger drains out of me at his explanation. I have no reason to believe him, but I do. Confusion makes my brain hurt as I reluctantly realise he stayed last night for my own good, and that he actuallyhelpedme and didn’t take advantage when he could have.

Releasing a long, heavy sigh, I rub my hands over my face, grumbling to myself. Slowly, flickers of memories that aren’t mine flash through my mind, and I start to remember snippets of my dream that I’d forgotten until now. It was the strangest dream. I’d been looking down at myself, and my thoughts were so different from my own, almost like I was in someone else’s mind entirely. However, the harder I try to grasp the memories, the further from my grip they seem to get.

A niggling suspicion enters my mind that perhaps it wasn’t a dream at all. After all, I had that experience with my mates the other night. This is different though, as Atlas wasn’t asleep and I seemed to slip into his mind. I’ve never done anything like that before, and my magic is blocked, so why would I be able to do it now?No, it was just a dream. Don’t look for more than it is, I tell myself.Atlas despises you and is a hateful male who doesn’t give a damn about you.Reminding myself of this is important. I can’t let myself get too comfortable with the people here, especially someone who openly discusses killing werewolves.

“What are you thinking? The bond is going mad in my chest.” He frowns, pressing a hand over his heart, his eyes tracking every one of my movements down to the slightest flicker of my hand.

“Why did you stay?” I blurt the one question in my mind that I can’t work out the answer to. He could have slipped out in the night when the others left and there was no one to check on us. He wants me dead, or at least he did when he abducted me, so what does it matter to him if I’m suffering and losing parts of my soul? In fact, that should make himhappy. I don’t understand him, and it’s making me nervous.

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