Page 14 of Dermot

“You didn’t happen to hear what they were saying, did you?”

“No. I didn’t think it was my business, so I let them be.”

“But it looked like Rose was dragging Celeste around? Like maybe she was forcing her to do something?”

“Yes. It definitely didn’t look like Celeste was happy to go along with whatever was happening.”

“Can you tell me where you saw them?”

“Yeah, sure.” The hunter pointed at a spot behind them. “They were right there on the edge of the shield, behind the houses. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen the two of them walk around, so I didn’t think much of it. I’m sorry.”

Bastien shook his head. “It’s fine. You didn’t know, and I don’t blame you for not doing anything.”

He turned to look at Dermot, and from the way his gaze blazed, Dermot was pretty sure that Bastien did blame him for this. Maybe he wasn’t wrong. Dermot didn’t want to think that Rose was dangerous, especially not after he’d trusted her and told Rowan and Clay that they could, too. “We don’t know what’s going on,” he told Bastien. “Rose might not have anything to do with Celeste being gone.”

“How likely is that, considering what you just heard?”

“I don’t know what’s probable. Maybe your sister dragged Rose into something.”

Bastien took a step forward, then stopped. He shook his head. “Until you can admit that you might have been wrong, I don’t think we should talk again. This isn’t going to end well if we do.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’m not. I have to find my sister, and I hope that by the time I do, you’ll be able to come to terms with the fact that you might have been wrong about Rose and about Celeste. If you can’t, well...maybe I’ll do what you think my sister should’ve done with her mate. Maybe I’ll refuse to bond with you.”

He turned and quickly walked away. Dermot didn’t have to ask to know where he was going. He needed to inform Rowan and Clay of what was happening and what the hunter had seen. Dermot should go with him, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Bastien would do if he tried. Would he punch him? Dermot felt like he deserved it.

He didn’t know what to think of any of this. Part of him still thought that Celeste might have gone back to Parrish of her own free will, but another part—the one he’d been doing his best to ignore because he didn’t like what it was telling him—thought that maybe he’d been wrong. Could he really blame Celeste for wanting to be with her fated mate? Once she’d realized the kind of man Parrish was, it had been too late for her. Parrish was smart, and he’d known how to charm her and make her believe he was a good person before they bonded. Once they’d bonded, though, he’d chained her to him and started using her. She wouldn’t have had any way to escape then. She would still be there with him if it weren’t for the clan.

There was a chance that a person he’d trusted had betrayed the clan and could bring harm to it. If Rose really was working with Parrish the way Bastien seemed to think, she could have done much worse than focus on Celeste. If she really was working with Parrish, she had no doubt taken Celeste back to her mate. Celeste would end up getting hurt, and through her, Bastien.

Dermot’s mouth tasted bitter. Would things have been different if he hadn’t trusted Rose the way he had? He was pretty sure that Rowan and Clay would have invited her into the village anyway, but Dermot could have kept an eye on her. He could have ensured that she truly wasn’t dangerous. Instead, he’d assumed that just because she was a Vila and there was no proof she’d ever worked with or been close to a Kudlak, she was safe.

He might have been wrong. He might have put Celeste in danger. He might have caused Bastien to hate him.

“That’s rough, man. Sorry,” the hunter said.

Dermot squinted at him. “Boyle, right?”

The man wrinkled his nose. “Boyd.”

Right. Dermot knew him from around the village. Boyd was bonded to a Krsnik, which meant that Dermot wasn’t close with him. He didn’t trust Krsniks. He lived with them because he didn’t have a choice and because it was safer, but after what had happened to his clan, he wasn’t sure he could ever trust any of them again.

Except that if he couldn’t trust his new clan, the Krsniks who belonged to it, or other Vila like Rose, who did that leave?

But even if he couldn’t trust Boyd, he still had to live with the man. They were fellow clan members, and Boyd had been helpful, although it would have been better if he’d come forward with this information sooner.

“Thanks for telling us what you saw,” Dermot said stiffly. “And yes, the situation is rough.”

Boyd shook his head. “I meant with your mate. You really put your foot in your mouth there. Were you trying to make him angry?”

“I wasn’t trying to do anything.” Except for hiding that he and Bastien were mates, but Boyd didn’t need to know that. Dermot might not know anything about him, but he was pretty sure that Boyd was happy being bonded to his Krsnik mate. What did he know of the kind of hardship Dermot had gone through?

Except that wasn’t entirely true. Boyd had been a hunter. He’d faced down countless Kudlak. Humans didn’t usually become hunters because they wanted to. They became hunters because Kudlak had hurt them and their families. It was similar to what Dermot had gone through.

“Well, you’re going to have to apologize,” Boyd said. “You basically told him that his sister is where she’s supposed to be when we know she’s with a monster. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, and I hope for you that he’s not your worst enemy.”

Shit. Dermot had done that, hadn’t he? Did it really matter whether or not Celeste had left because she wanted to? No one deserved the life Parrish had forced her to live since they’d bonded. Beyond that, Bastien knew her better than Dermot. Maybe he was right when he said that Celeste would never have gone back to Parrish if she hadn’t been forced to. Who would have? Even with the bond, it would have been possible for her to resist.