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William nodded and headed toward the back of the mansion and Ethan’s office, opening his phone as he went. Ethan stopped, realizing the necessity of introductions and some sort of explanation. He put his arm around Marie’s shoulders and scanned the group of his pride members who stared at her; some hostile, some neutral. All curious.
“This is Marie, Bastien’s sister from Atlantis. She came for a visit and is having the worst damn vacation on record,” he said bluntly. “I’m sure William has told you that Fallon’s pride brother, Travis, called alpha challenge upon me.”
He looked around, meeting each gaze, noting and appreciating the anger and loyalty on every face. “We need to return her to Atlantis until I take care of this little problem,” he continued. “In the meantime, I charge every one of you to protect her as if she were your own litter sister.”
A few gasps met his words and more than a few speculative glances were cast Marie’s way. But nobody even thought about arguing with him. Gregory, one of his fiercest pride-brothers, stepped forward. “I will guard her with my life, Ethan,” he vowed, dropping to one knee before his alpha and bending his head to bare his neck. “For the honor of the Cypress pride.”
Every panther there echoed the call. “For the honor of the Cypress pride!”
Marie stared around at them, eyes widened and lips parted slightly. She tilted her head to look into his face, and the floor shifted underneath him when his gaze met hers. The echo of passion from her kisses resonated through his body so hard and fast it was like a body blow. Only the presence of half of his pride prevented him from throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to his bedroom to continue what they’d started on Kat’s couch.
He took her hand and headed down the hall toward his guest suite, then changed his mind and veered off to the left toward the master suite. “Now I’m a damn caveman,” he muttered. “Next I’ll shift into some kind of saber-toothed tiger.”
He realized Marie was almost running to keep pace with his long strides, so he slowed but did not release her hand.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“Nothing important. This is it. You can stay here until we can reach Alaric to come get you,” he said, flinging open the doors to his rooms
.
She followed him into the room, then stopped. “It’s very…elegant,” she finally said.
He laughed. “Smooth and diplomatic, I’ll give you that. It’s a damn bare room.”
He looked around, trying to see the room through her eyes. Devoid of furniture except for a bed covered by a plain blanket, the space was huge and barren.
“Why does the prince of cats lead such a stark existence, I wonder,” she murmured, but she wasn’t mocking him. She’d spoken with concern and warmth in her tone. Two emotions he’d never expected to find in his bedroom.
He’d found lust there. He’d found callous indifference, spite, and—finally—hatred from Fallon. After she’d been murdered, he’d returned to the room in a killing rage and taken it out on the furniture. Every rug, painting, or piece of furniture she’d touched. He’d destroyed it all, clawing it to shreds in a towering fury. No matter what a heartless, cold woman she’d been, she’d been under his protection.
He’d failed Fallon.
He wouldn’t fail Marie.
“I got rid of anything she’d touched. Couldn’t stand to see it,” he admitted, walking away from her. Anything so she couldn’t see his face.
“You loved her that much?” The sympathy in her voice was like salt on the bloody wounds of his conscience.
“No,” he confessed, the words wrenched from a black and twisted place in his soul. “I didn’t love her at all. That’s why I couldn’t stand it. Maybe if I’d loved her, I’d have found a way to protect her, even from herself.”
Marie stepped up beside him and placed her hand on his arm. “Bastien told me of Fallon and her plot to work with the vampires against you and Kat. As a leader, you must know that you cannot save everyone. Some are destined to walk a dark path.”
Ethan stared down at her hand on his arm where it burned through his sleeve to his skin. To his nerve endings. “I don’t need your sympathy, Marie. I made my choices, and I have to live with them. But you don’t. Call Alaric, and let’s get you out of here.”
She jerked her hand away from him as if stung. “I did not offer my sympathy but my understanding. I see, though, that you require neither.”
Whirling around, Marie walked to the center of the room, graceful even in her anger. He wanted to race after her and yank her into his arms and never let go. Inside him, his panther purred its agreement with that plan.
Instead, he stood his ground and watched her retreat. She closed her eyes and lifted her face toward the ceiling, raising both hands, palms up, at her sides. A faint silvery blue glow whispered around her still form until she was bathed in light. A nymph rising from the sea in starlight.
He suddenly wanted her with a painful urgency. His body hardened to the point of pain. He scrubbed his face with his hand, disgusted with himself.
I’m nothing if not the king of bad timing.
After nearly three full minutes, Marie opened her eyes. She bit her lip and shook her head, then stood there heaving in deep breath after deep breath.
“What? What’s wrong?”
