Page 81 of Fated to Them

“I want her to want me on her own terms. I won’t force her. But you cutting her off from everyone will make her want to run,” Cyrus snaps at me.

“And if he tells her, then what? I won’t have her running around with the likes of a fucking hunter, Cyrus. Not one she is in love with.”

“She doesn’t love him, just thinks she does,” Cyrus says, pinching the skin between his eyes in frustration.

“Through the bond, it sure feels like she is in love with him to me.”

“Did you ever think maybe she wants him because you told her she can’t have him?” he says, making me look at him. “Let her figure it out herself.”

“So, you are happy for her to be with him? Just give her up?”

“I’m not giving her up, but I won’t force her. We forced her here already. The bond will kick in with or without me marking her. We fucked up by making a big deal out of Sam, and it has made her curious.”

“And if he tells her, she finds out what we did. Do you really think she will be so forgiving to accept us?”

“The bond won’t allow her to leave. Why can’t you understand that?” Cyrus argues.

“That’s not a risk I am willing to take. Mark her, Cyrus, or let me do things my way,” I tell him.

“Is everything alright?” Adeline asks, coming in.

She must have heard us arguing. I look over at her, trying to keep my anger at bay. It mustn’t have worked because she takes a step back.

“Everything is fine, Addie. Go back inside. We will be in soon,” I tell her.

I watch her leave, waiting for her to be out of earshot.

“Just let it be, Cyrus. She handed it over. She wouldn’t be thinking we would let her keep it,” I tell him, and he glares at me before walking out after her.

Cyrus has always been willing to bend over backward for her, even if it means her leaving us. It irritates me; if he would just mark her, we could be done with this hunter business and change her. That is the ultimate goal, but for her to agree, she needs to be bonded fully to us. Without that, she will never agree to give up her family for good. Newborn vampires are unpredictable, and we are going to have enough trouble getting the council to agree. So if she doesn’t choose it when they speak with her, they won’t agree to us keeping her. They will kill her with no regard for us and the fact that she is our mate. I know Sam has pull with our council, too. He could convince them to force us to hand her over to rival organizations working together to keep the order, and unfortunately, Addie is linked in more ways than one to both sides.

If Sam tells her of our intentions, she may just run. Not that she will be able to hide from us, nor will I stop looking for her. Then there is our other issue. Sam knows what happened. If he tells her, she will hate us, making everything more difficult.

Walking out of the shed and into the foyer, I look for them, finding Addie in the living room. She is sitting on the couch looking bored, Cyrus nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Cyrus?” she asks, looking over at me.

“You didn’t see him?” I ask her, confused.

I thought he had come back in with her. Hearing footsteps behind me, I see Cyrus walking toward me and out of the kitchen, keys in his hand.

“I am here,” he says, and I can feel his burning anger through the bond, his need to feed as he tries to shove it away.

I press my lips together. He is mad, and I can see this isn’t going to be the last argument over this topic. He either marks her, or I lock her away; he knows this. That is why we came here, to keep her away from Sam. I won’t have her gallivanting around with him.

“We should head to work,” I tell her, and she hops up, sweeping her hair over her shoulder.

Cyrus walks outside, going to the car.

“What’s wrong with him?” she asks, stopping and looking at me.

“Nothing. Come, we should go,” I tell her, placing my hand on her lower back and escorting her outside.

Cyrus hops in the driver’s seat, starting the ignition. Addie climbs in the back, and instead of getting in beside Cyrus, I hop in the back with her, needing her to calm the raging beast within me.

* * *

Adeline