Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4) - Leia Stone Page 0,30
again.
Rage caught my hand and tugged me back to him, tucking me close once more. “We’ll still meet every day for ten minutes, right? How is four o’clock?”
With a big sigh, which did nothing to relieve the trepidation coiling in my chest, I rose up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Dropping my voice, I whispered in his ear, letting my lips brush his skin. “See you at four, mate.”
He caught me, his hands on my hips as I lowered myself, a smile playing on his full lips at our secret. We’d sealed our bond. No one could take that from us.
Not now, not ever.
Honor and I passed through the portal. Reyna was nowhere to be found in the hallway leading into the library. The only sound was the splashing of the magical fountain in the library’s rotunda, and I turned to look at Honor. ‘Thanks for being here with me.’
He gave me a wolfish grin. ‘Of course, sis.’
I blinked at his term of endearment. ‘Sis?’
Honor padded down the aisle, stopping to look back at me over his shoulder. Not only was his grin still there, but he offered me a short bark that sounded a lot like laughter. ‘You might be able to fool the mages, but I can smell Rage all over you—way stronger than ever before. You’re family now.’
My eyes widened, and my pale skin probably turned the color of a flamingo—all the way from my scalp to the tips of my toes. ‘You can? But, I showered after…’
Ever the gentleman, Honor turned away as my admission caught up to me, and my blush deepened.
‘Please pretend I didn’t just say that,’ I muttered, scurrying to catch up to him.
‘You’ve got it,’ he said through our bond as we wound through the library toward the door marked spirit. ‘For what it’s worth, I’m glad you and Rage sealed your mate bond, even though you weren’t able to have a human wedding ceremony first.’
My skin went from pink to deep red, like a freakin’ beet. ‘Uh … thanks? I think…’
‘Are we done talking about this now?’ Honor asked.
‘So done.’ Because what girl wanted to talk about intimacy with her brother-in-law? ‘Let’s focus on something else’—pretty much anything else—‘please?’
Honor laughed, just as we arrived at the doorway to spirit, my grandfather’s study, and then more laughter swelled around me, followed by voices.
“Have you seen her yet?” a male mage asked, his voice sounding younger than the high mages I’d tested with yesterday.
“Yep,” another male answered, his voice having the same timbre as Kian’s. His son. “She was at the records hall a couple nights ago to sign her name.”
Julian!
“And…?” the first voice asked.
“Oh my mage, Xavier!” a female trilled, her voice airy and musical. “She’s not life-companion material.”
One of the males grunted, but I couldn’t tell if that was in agreement or not. Probably not. Not that I cared what the other mages thought.
Looking at Honor, I rolled my eyes and then pulled open the door to Gramps’ study. Perhaps, if that was that, I would’ve walked through the door and said nothing.
Maybe.
But the mean girls’ convo … it just … kept … going.
“There’s not even short-term partner potential with that half-breed,” Kian’s son said. “Dad said—”
“Your dad is a douchebag!” I yelled, just before stepping over the threshold. I started to push the door closed, but my comment wasn’t nearly enough. Not even close. I sucked in a deep breath and yanked the door wide once more. “And I’m already mated!”
The voices cut off, and a female gasped, but I didn’t wait to hear what else was said. I simply slammed the door shut.
I glanced down at Honor and raised my eyebrows. “I’m done playing nice to these evil rich kids.”
His tongue lolled out again as he cocked his head to the side. ‘I’m pretty sure you’ve never played nice to jerks.’
There wasn’t really much to say to that; he had an excellent point.
I peered around the space, but Reyna wasn’t in my grandfather’s study. Honor and I shared a look. “I guess I’m going to go start my first day.”
‘Do you want me to stay here or come with you?’ he asked.
I exhaled a long breath. “You know, I have no idea which would be better.”
‘Then I’ll stay here,’ he replied. ‘But prop the door open so I can get to you if needed. And we may need to replace it … I nearly went crazy yesterday.’