Mercer spoke for us again, but it was the answer we all would have given. “The bond isn’t everything. She’s meant to be with us. I’ve known it from the first time I saw her.”
She’d drawn us all in like moths to a flame. I’d been the least capable of staying away, of saying no to her, and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon.
Especially with how much I had to make up for.
“She’s all we need. Bond or no bond,” I said quietly.
Talia’s fathers glanced at each other. Nico rolled his eyes, seeming annoyed with the outcome of their assessment. “Fine. We give you our blessing. For now.”
“Does that mean we can get back to her?” I asked. “She wasn’t keen to let us leave.”
“For tonight, you’re free to go. Nico and Hart will go with you to check in with her,” Jurah confirmed. “We’ll be looking into your information on the bullets.”
I wasn’t worried about that. Mercer had told the truth and hadn’t left a damn thing out. All I was worried about was Talia.
The faster I could get back to her, the better.
Chapter
Fourteen
TALIA
Mira perched on the edge of the bed, a pillow clutched to her chest. I’d expected Lavinia to be at the meeting with the guys and our fathers, getting information about the feral alpha bullets, but she leaned against the wall in my nesting room instead.
“Wonder how terrified your alphas are, all alone in a meeting room with our fathers?” Mira grinned, a glint in her eye.
“I’m sure they’ve got nothing to worry about,” Lavinia said. “Presuming their intentions are pure.”
That second part read like a threat.
What had I gotten those men into?
Shifting in the blankets, I moved to the edge of the bed. “Maybe I should go see them after all.”
“No way.” Mira shook her head. “They’ve gotta make their own bed. Besides, we have something to talk to you about. Without our fathers around.”
But what if my alphas ended up scared for their lives and never came back? It was already hard enough being away fromthem all. I half wished I’d accepted Conrad staying behind, but I couldn’t just allow West to believe he was replaceable.
Benjamin’s emotions were stronger without them here, though. The man was trying to drive me insane; it was obvious from how strongly his hate-filled feelings assaulted me. He wasn’t blocking off the bond even a little bit.
He was doing the opposite, trying to increase the connection between us. All so he could torment me more.
“What did you want to talk about?” I slumped back onto my pile of pillows.
“Benjamin.”
His hate pierced my heart, my body breaking out in a cold sweat at the mere sound of someone else saying his name. I grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table, trying to soothe my bone dry throat.
“He ruined my life, what is there to talk about?”
“Emilia is trying to find him,” Lavinia explained. “She’s looking into why he might have done this to you.”
“He did this because he’s vile. A fucking psychopath. I can tell because he’s in my head now.”
My older sister cringed.
Mira crawled onto the bed fully, sitting close beside me. “There must be something he gains out of this.”
