Page 10 of Reign

“No! Stop telling me what to do. I don’t understand this, but I know what I feel.”

He angled them to the side and the wood splintered under my grasp. Aetas glanced over at me for the first time and sighed.

“There’s love between the two of us,” Hunter whispered, still staring at her. “I don’t know how I know you, but you love me. I know you do. Help me. I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Loved,” Tessa snapped. “And it was a long time ago. Before this life.” She lifted her hands in between his hold, settling them on his cheeks. Her face softened and it had my pulse going even faster. “Listen to me. You’re scared, but you have to trust me. I need you to go with Aetas. Come tomorrow, you won’t remember this, or even me. And that’s for the best. This conversation won’t come back to you for months, but when it does, I want you to remember how you are right now. How you feel. We don’t have to be enemies, and this life doesn’t have to be bad for you.”

Hunter’s brow drew in. “We’re not enemies. I could never hate you. I love you. I do.”

Tears slid down Tessa’s cheeks and her fingers gripped to his face harder as she drew his lips to hers. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even contain the need to kill everything in my path. The room rocked and I could barely process the moment when Hunter’s big body hit the ground.

Tessa sobbed, spinning to Aetas with a fury that matched my own. Her body was trembling as she pointed her shaky finger toward our leader. “Is that how you plan to control him? By mere words? You have no idea what you have done! Get him out of my city. Get him out right now before it’s too late.”

Chapter 5

Tessa

“Tessa, please. You have to stop blocking your mind and either let me in or talk with me.”

I glanced at Marko from the mirror of my vanity. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, resting his palms just above his knees. His head was slightly bowed and I knew he wanted to talk, I just wasn’t sure what to say.

Seeing Hunter again—as a vampire, no less. My duty was all I had known in the moment. It kept me from killing my enemy. It kept me from acting rash. It saved him. But did it save me? With my panic of intercepting him in the heart of the city, I hadn’t been protected. My crown was exactly where it was now, beside the bed. I felt Hunter’s power, his persuasion, he received from Aetas.

He was a newborn, but already it was there, confusing the thoughts in my head with what I knew were lies. “We’re not enemies. I could never hate you. I love you. I do.” As he’d spoken the words, I could almost believe myself still in love with him. My heart fluttered and my skin heated. But it wasn’t me, it was him. He was trying to force the emotions into me, even though I doubted he knew what he was doing. His gift was bad news if he chose to use it wrong—use it against me.

“I said I’m sorry a dozen times.”

I blinked past the thoughts, turning on the bench seat to look into Marko’s face. “You couldn’t help yourself. I don’t blame you.”

“But you do,” he stressed. “I saw it in your eyes, ma minette. It hurt you to hear Aetas say you would never lead because of me. And you believed him.”

I glanced down at his hands, leaning forward to take his into my own.

“Only time will tell who is meant to lead. Perhaps it is Hunter. It’s likely he will be stronger. After all, he has Aetas’ blood. And he didn’t appear violent. Not more so than any newborn. He’s actually extremely well composed for being so young. Better than I was, that’s for sure.”

“Did you not hear the carnage he left behind in Austin? We’re talking mass deaths of police officers. Not to mention the citizens he killed before that. Were you even listening to Marie when she came to the room to report the news?”

God, I hadn’t. Not really. My mind was so jumbled.

“Marko.” My lips opened to speak when I stopped and stood, reaching for my crown to put on. I couldn’t risk Aetas spying on me or pushing into my head. With the crown on, he wouldn’t be able to do that.

I returned to the bench, grabbing back for his hands.

“I have to be honest with you. Hunter scares me. His powers … I felt them. They affected me.”

Seriousness drew his features tight and he squeezed my hands. “Did they? Show me.”

I nodded, looking up to meet Marko’s eyes. Colors swirled and I drew him into my memories, back to the moment Hunter looked deep into my gaze. His words, they tugged at something within and I could feel what almost appeared to be my soul, sucked in his direction. The tingling, the needs…

My head jerked to the side, breaking our connection. I couldn’t look at Marko as guilt swarmed me.

“Oh, love.” His finger’s slid against my cheek, bringing me back to him. “We both know what you experienced was him, not you. Don’t blame yourself. You were an open door in those moments and now we know you’ll just have to be more careful in the future.”

A tear escaped and I quickly wiped it away.

“I’m so confused. I still feel his pull. I hate him. But…”

“But nothing. The two of you never had time to adjust to either role, vampire or slave. There’s no going back now. He is one of us. You and I are going to have to accept that. Tonight, I made a terrible mistake. One that opened my eyes. I’m so worried about losing you that I realized the only way that’s going to happen is if I carry on recklessly. I’m my own worst enemy, I’ve known it for years, but only after seeing Aetas hurt you with his words, did I really see the truth. I really am sorry for my actions. They were deplorable for my status as not only a member, but as the mate to the ruler of the city—to you. It won’t happen again.”

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