Chapter 9

An hour later I sat there staring into the glass of wine in my hand. I didn’t know what to do with the information.

“I think we broke her.” Daxx said quietly.

I came back to reality and looked at her. I shook my head. “No. Not broken, just—” I opened my mouth then closed it and sighed, “I don’t know what I think.”

“It’s a lot to take in.” Alona agreed getting up to get another bottle of wine. “I already knew I wasn’t normal, per se, but the mate thing was a horror story for me.” Opening it she came and sat back down. “We need to personalize this space a bit more, the men did well, but they have no concept of Feng Shui at all.”

Bethany laughed, “Eight men decorating a room, what could go wrong?”

I looked at them, then to Crissy. “You’re sure this,” I waved my hand around, “prophecy is about me?”

She looked up from the cracker she’d been studying and nodded. “The brother that controls thought will stand stronger when his mate, that holds time, is found.” She shrugged. “Who else could that be about if not you and Arius?”

“It’s true.” Daxx nodded, “and at least yours makes sense—mine was cryptic mumbo jumbo.”

Setting the glass down, I decided alcohol was not going to help me figure this out. Pulling my feet up, I turned so I could see the other four women. “Let me get this straight.” I looked at Daxx. “There’s a prophecy about the brothers—no one knows how old it is…”

“Centuries and centuries,” Crissy said softly.

I nodded, “Older than time,” I paused looking for the words, “and in this prophecy you could have been mated to either twin king?” Daxx nodded and sighed. “But Troy marked you when Chase resisted the,” I waved my hand around, “pull?” She nodded again. I leaned back. “That—I mean, Troy seems so…”

“Well, he’s not.” Daxx said then emptied her glass.

“You don’t regret it?” I motioned to her arm. “Completing it.”

She looked at her arm and tilted her head. “No, well, eighty—ninety percent of the time I don’t.” She gave me a bored look, “Only when I’m confined to quarters and pissed off, so I don’t even think that counts.” She pulled out her phone. “Update. All traps are set. First group in an hour.” She tucked the phone back in her pocket.

“I hope this works.” Alona said leaning over and filling Daxx’s glass, again.

“Me too.” Crissy nodded. “I don’t like things I can’t see and not knowing.”

Everyone nodded. I wasn’t sure what she said, so I didn’t. I studied her. “You agreed to sleep with Victor but not be his mate…”

“I knew I was his mate; I didn’t want him to mark me and be stuck with someone that just is.” She frowned.

“Right. Then he took you to a butterfly migration,” I grinned. “I still can’t believe those photos, they’re amazing.” I shook my head, “then you knew it was going to be all right?”

Crissy grinned, her head nodding quickly. “Because I’d seen it for a long time.”

Alona picked up her phone and sighed as she looked at it.

“Is it important?” Daxx asked. “Because I may not be able to kick ass right now.” She raised her glass in the air.

Alona shook her head, then grinned. “No. Chase is pouting because I’m here and he’s on Arius watch.”

“Arius watch?” I looked from Daxx to Alona.

“Mmm,” Alona set the phone down, “they get a little out of hand and…”

“Rampage.” Crissy finished.

Daxx nodded, “when they’re close to their mates but can’t have them.”

My eyes grew huge.

“Oh. No, no, not like that.” Alona laughed, “She means before the marking and bond is complete.” She rolled her eyes, “not after or we would…”

“Kill them and bury the bodies.” Daxx added.

Alona smirked, “Not quite what I was going to say, but close enough.”

Grabbing my glass, I drank back what was left in it, then paused and looked over at the stereo. I hadn’t even realized the music had stopped. Putting the glass down, I got up and went over. Picking up my phone, I scrolled through some songs and selected a few that would be good background sound for this discussion. I noticed I had messages and opened them before turning the music on. They were from Arius.

“He’s sending you messages?” Alona inquired leaning over the back of the couch.

I nodded. “He’s sorry.” I opened the next one. “He wants to talk.” The next one. “He’s an idiot and handled it all wrong.” I closed the message app and started the music.

Daxx shrugged, “at least he’s admitting it.”

I went over and sat back down.

Bethany turned and looked at me. “Just don’t agree to anything without clarification first.”

I watched Alona fill up my glass then looked at Beth. “So you thought you were going to jail but in the meantime the secret he was keeping was you were his mate?”

She nodded, “and thought I was agreeing to sex with him, not the insta-tattoo.” She held up her arm.

I slumped down on the couch. “Why don’t they just explain it first?” I motioned around the room. “All of it.”

Daxx leaned forward, taking her phone out and setting it on the table, then sat back again. “Except for Alona, I’d say it’s because all of this is so far from the normal we grew up with, they’re afraid we’ll run the other way.”

Bethany sat forward and picked up some crackers. “It’s true.”

I sighed and picked imaginary lint off my jeans. “I really thought Arius was…” I snorted, “I don’t know exactly—different then all the lying, cheating, pervs out there.”

“Well, he is,” Alona said quietly, “he just didn’t go about gaining your trust very well.”

Crissy nodded. “Victor doesn’t lie. He blurts out the truth even if you don’t want to hear it.”

Alona leaned forward and looked at her phone and smiled. “Chase is very persistent tonight.” She sat back and shrugged.

I sighed. “Okay, define mate. What is the difference between this and marrying someone you love?”

“Aside from living longer…” Daxx mused.

Beth gave me a curious look, “and the insta-tattoo.”

“Or the mental connection?” Crissy asked frowning.

I waved my hand around. “Yes, other than all of that.”

Beth smiled, “That’s easy. The completeness you feel.”

Crissy nodded. “Forgiveness. It’s not defined.”

“Oh, fidelity.” Beth nodded. “They can’t cheat.”

I gave her a look, “can’t?”

She nodded. “They’ll never want another woman.” She looked at the other women. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my heart crushed more than once by a boyfriend who couldn’t keep it in his pants.”

Daxx shrugged then nodded slowly.

“That’s…” I just nodded; I couldn’t argue with that being a big plus.

“Understanding.” Alona said with a soft look. “Understanding, not just what you like, but who you are.”

Daxx snorted. “That’s pushing it.”

Alona turned to her. “He doesn’t look at you and just know where you’re going with your next thought?”

“Okay. Dammit. You’re right.” Daxx sighed.

A knock on the door had all of us turn.

“Who is it?” Alona asked.

The door opened and a hand holding a bottle of wine appeared.

Alona grinned. “Oh. I do love when a bottle of wine is at the door.”

“Come in Chase.” Daxx laughed.

He stuck his head in, with a cautious expression on his face. “I’ve come to lure my mate away—so we can sleep for a few hours before we have to run a kingdom.” He stepped inside. “My brothers want practice tomorrow, so I need sleep to beat their asses.” He nodded.

Alona stood up.

Daxx gave him an odd look. “What are you going to do when we take down Hubert and you can sleep during the dark again? We’ll never see you.”

Chase gave her a shocked look. “How boring would your lives be without me?” He shrugged, “Relax. Regardless of what is going on, our lives have always been days and nights broken, one overlapping the other.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not one right now.” Daxx stood up, then grinned. “We need to limit your mate’s pouring speed.”

Chase chuckled, “she’s very efficient at keeping the glasses full.”

Alona picked up her phone and turned to smile at me. “I’d ask if we helped at all, but I know the endless processing that goes with all of this.”

“Don’t remind me.” Chase said coming over and setting the bottle on the table. “It’s a very fine line we walk,” he leaned down and whispered, “us males.” He nodded. “The pull to ensure our mate is healthy and happy versus the urge to make them ours unequivocally.” He winked. “I am thrilled I only have to go through that once—” he pulled Alona against his side and kissed her, “and never again.”

Daxx waved a hand at him. “Stop soapboxing for the men’s team.”

Bethany laughed, “Don’t make me blast you, Chase.” She motioned to me. “She has to make up her own mind.”

Chase sighed, “I know, sparky, but have you ever seen Arius when he’s in a mood?” He cringed. “I don’t know how long we can contain that.”

Daxx lifted both hands and then dropped them. “Wouldn’t be a normal day around here if one of you weren’t raging.”

Chase raised an eyebrow at her. “Pot, kettle.” He smirked.

She waved him off, “go.”

He inclined his head and took Alona’s hand. “See you ladies later.” He looked over his shoulder at her as he opened the door. “I hear the gown fittings are tomorrow.” He grinned and stepped out.

“Ugh. There goes my wine buzz.” Daxx mumbled.

Crissy jumped up. “I’m going to my tower.”

Bethany nodded, “I’m going to start printing out the data on the server, see if we can sort through some of it later.”

I looked at Daxx. “Can you help me get back to my room? The pink arrows only go to the dining room and after the wine, I just want a nap.”

She nodded. “Sure. I’ll drop you off then I’m going to see if I can get in on some of the trap missions.”

Bethany glanced up from the computer. “Good luck with that. I think we’re all grounded.”

She laughed. “They can try.”

~

The walk back was slow.

I glanced to Daxx. “This has been quite the day.” I frowned, “night.”

She snorted. “I’d like to lie to you and say you get used to the day and night thing, but you don’t.”

“I found out I lost my apartment, helped sneak into a building, confiscate data, fight a bunch of scary men, I may have a great, great grandfather? Alive. And a man I really like turned out to be a cheat like the last one that got me into all of this.” I sucked in a breath.

Daxx made a strange face. “Some of that is good, though.” She shrugged. “On the larger scale of things.”

I sighed. “I suppose, but it’s been a long day-night.” I stopped walking when I saw the door to my room. A small package sat outside.

“He’s wasting no time sucking up.” Daxx went over and picked it up and held it out to me.

Frowning, I looked at it then opened it slowly. Inside was a tube of dark purple lipstick.

“Uh, that’s an odd suck up gift. Purple lipstick.” Daxx tucked her hands in her pocket. “I’m assuming it has some sort of significance.”

I remembered Arius’ reaction to my wearing lipstick. I glanced at her. “I think he’s asking me to torture him by wearing it.”

“That’s way more than I needed to know about Arius.” She shook her head.

“It’s hard to explain.” I looked at the tube in my hand.

“So are you going to?” She motioned to it. “Torture him by wearing it?”

I bit my lip. “I’m not sure.”

“Get some rest. The next few days are going to be crazy. I’m hoping by morning we have an idea of when we’ll be hitting the island.”

My heart sped up. “I’d forgotten about that.”

“Understandable.” She shrugged. “But if we get on it, it’s going to be all hands-on deck—regardless of what the men want.”

I nodded. “I’ll help. Anything to stop them from taking more girls.”