lie. You must trust that I would never lie to you.”
I march over to him. “Arcayos, you’re forcing me to risk everything in order to help you impersonate a cop. And you’re using my sister as a fucking bargaining chip. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve ruined any reason for me to trust you.”
“So be it.” He spreads his hands. “It changes nothing.”
I push my hand through my still-damp curls. “What was wrong with me last night?”
Seating himself on the foot of my bed, he puts his head down for a moment, as if thinking. He meets my gaze with a level look.
“You were in heat.”
I give a bitter laugh. “I am not an animal, Arcayos. Humans don’t work that way. Tell me the truth.”
“I am speaking true.” The sharpness in his tone startles me.
“Why didn’t you tell me this was going to happen?”
“Believe me, had I known it would be like this, I would have handled things much differently.” He shakes his head. “The Gidan Hudar is only forged between demons. Or I thought it was.”
“The… what?”
“Gidan Hudar. It means Mating Bond.”
I widen my eyes.
“The Bond’s effects manifested a lot faster with you than they should have.” A scowl pulls his mouth down. “I have never seen the sickness take hold so early or so fast. Usually what was happening to you only occurs after months of being Bound to a Tae’agul, and only when the couple is separated for a prolonged time.”
He gives a sharp rumble and pushes to his feet.
“The Gods only Bond demons. It’s exceedingly rare for Tae’agul to even have mates. And I have never heard of one of us being mated to a human.”
“Oh my god. Arcayos, are you saying that I’m your mate?”
“Yes.”
My head spins as I desperately try to grasp onto what this means. I’m bound, mated forever, to a demon.
“Wait. You said gods. Did Hazuldar do this?”
“No.”
““Va’halzoret,” I say flatly.
“Yes.” His voice is a low whisper that vibrates with regret.
I put up a palm. “I don’t like that woman.”
He gives a sad sort of smile. “I am not thrilled with her either at the moment.”
I run my hand down my face. “So, is that why I was all crazy last night? That’s why I felt like I had a fever?”
He nods.
“So, you solved the problem by having sex with me when I was out of it?” I snap. “Did you even ask me?”
“Yes,” he says almost gruffly. “I did ask you. Twice. I would never have—” He cuts himself off with a growl and whirls away from me, his black cloak swirling around him like a cape.
I lick my lips. “What… what did I say?”
He won’t look at me, his eyes on the window. “You were as hungry for me as I was for you.”
Okay, I’m being a bit of a bitch for even thinking he did this without my permission. I didn’t just want him with my body. I needed him with everything I was. I’d been ready to eat him alive, and even now, some part of me longs for his closeness with an ache that makes my chest constrict.
Except, after last night, everything he says feels coated with suspicion.
I rub at my neck, wincing when my fingers graze the bite he left there. My stomach drops. “Oh, shit. You bit me. Am I going to turn into a demon?”
“No.” His gaze skirts toward the bite mark and then he looks away. “When Tae’agul become Gidan Hudar, the males are compelled to bite the first time. But a bite from a demon is not the same as a werewolf bite. There will always be a mark there now, but it will cause no damage or change in you.”
He’s talking about werewolves as if they’re real.
“Arcayos, there is no way I would have agreed to being … Bound … to you if I was in my right mind. Not after what you did the other night.”
“I know.” His voice is a soft rasp.
The pain that radiates from those words is crushing.
Turning to face me, his fingers gently caress the bruise on my neck. He lifts my wrist and traces the redness there with his thumb. “You deserve better than to be cleaved for the rest of your life to what I am.” He lets my wrist drop. “But what we did last night sealed the deal. It cannot be undone.”
“Sealed the deal?” I scoff, pacing the room. God, I feel as if I’ve lost something, as if something vital has