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That was all it took for Zeke to teleport them back to Nina’s clan lands. As Remmus’ shoulders dropped, Ava caught his frame against her, determinedly whispering, “You will wake up from this, Remmus. You get one nap, and after that, I’m going to expect some answers.”
“’Course, Blondie. Just gonna catch a few Z’s.”
A lazy grin was her response, but when sleep finally took him, it fled.
***
As the tempting lure of slumber gradually faded, Remmus became aware that he wasn’t alone. Someone was sleeping beside him. Skin flush with warmth, he dragged in a breath and smelled the sweet scent of citrus that clung to the woman next to him.
Heart thudding within, he scrutinized every visible inch of her body. After being in a fight like the one they’d just had, he was certain they hadn’t gotten away unscathed. His fear steadily reduced as he detected no trace of injury and he reluctantly retreated to the other side of the bed.
She would still be upset with him. Before she’d fled from him in the den, after he’d opened the door to their shared history, Ava hadn’t pulled her punches. Though the memory was slightly fuzzy, he remembered enough to know she’d never wanted to see him again.
She told him that she hated him, and that it would never outweigh her love.
The words were like poison to his already compromised mind. Not only had he failed her when they were kids, he’d failed her several times over in the present.
She’d gone on to finish his job and been nearly killed while doing it. It’d even taken her fear and pain siphoning through the mating bond to jolt him from forgetting everything about her. He was really hitting the matehood achievements out of the park.
Not that it mattered. Remmus had no doubt she’d sever the mating bond irrevocably.
Failure.
The old coercion blipped into his mind, but the need for reparations was muted, the strength needed to push it from his mind was almost nonexistent.
“Remmus?”
Rusty with slumber, Ava’s voice tickled his ears. She stirred, turning toward him where he’d scooted away. Instantly, her curves became flush with his body, and a greedy desire sparked within.
He grit his teeth, barely able to withhold his primal need to claim her and to finalize the bond. “Ava, please, you have to go.”
“Go where?”
Sitting up, she glanced about the room before frowning at him, confused. He couldn’t hold her gaze. Her bitterness and anger would undoubtedly come, and he loathed that fact that there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Worthless. Inept. Weak.
The words recited in his head. It didn’t matter how many times he’d banished them nor how many years spread between when his mother had uttered them. It didn’t make it any less true.
“Remmus.”
Ava’s voice had a strangely soft note to it when he’d expected anger. Regardless of how eager she’d been to see him while she’d been trapped beneath the silver netting, Remmus wasn’t clueless: her true reaction had merely been delayed.
When she reached out toward him, he flinched, expecting to be struck.
The wolf in Ava’s chest whined, and moments later, the woman gave a cry of utter sorrow. Jerking back her hands, her face contorted in misery.
“Remmus, I’m not going to hurt you,” she whispered. “I wanted to touch you, hug you; to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.”
Bland, the statement did nothing to pacify the she-wolf still flush against his body. Every curve of her luscious body was a sinful temptation. And when the barest hint of puzzlement crossed her features, Remmus bolted from the bed without apology.
Languidly pulling herself into a seated position, Ava tilted her head. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I’ve done enough resting.”
His response had been too quick and too serious. He was doing a rather poor job of maintaining his flippant façade, but in the face of Ava’s quickly dissolving good mood, he’d rather rip off the Band-Aid.
