Page 20 of Dermot

“I certainly haven’t told them.”

“Then why did they think something was happening between us?”

“Probably because we’re not discreet. I spend quite a bit of time with Clay, and they noticed I was avoiding you. They probably also noticed how grumpy I became every time you were mentioned.”

That made Bastien smile. “Did you?”

“You don’t have to sound so amused. I didn’t know what to do about you. I still don’t.”

Right. Finding Celeste was Bastien’s main focus, but it wasn’t his only problem. He also had to figure out whatever was happening with Dermot. At least now that he knew part of Dermot’s story, he understood better why his mate was so prickly with him. He was protecting himself. The people he’d trusted had betrayed him, and he didn’t want to go through that again. It was understandable, and while Bastien wanted to point out that none of those people had been Dermot’s mate, he didn’t feel like he could. Dermot wasn’t naïve, and he had an example of how being mates didn’t have to mean something right in front of him.

Parrish didn’t care about Celeste and her well-being. He certainly didn’t care about her happiness. He only cared about himself and what she brought to him, and who was to say that Bastien wouldn’t be the same way with Dermot? Bastien could argue about it and make promises as much as he wanted. As long as Dermot didn’t feel like he could trust him, he wouldn’t. Bastien didn’t know how long that would take, but that was okay. He needed to focus on Celeste first, anyway.

“Your family is very close, isn’t it?” Dermot asked.

Bastien was surprised that Dermot wanted to know, although maybe he shouldn’t be. Dermot had apologized. He’d told him about his past. It was clear he was reaching out, and any other day, that would’ve made Bastien happy. It still did, it was just hard to think around the fear and worry about his sister.

“We are,” he said. “We were all worried when Celeste and Parrish disappeared. We didn’t want to think that we’d made a mistake, but we knew we had. It’s not like we could’ve stopped her, though. She’s an adult, and he’s her mate. I’m sure that Parrish would have used the law to his advantage if we’d tried anything. We could only hope that, eventually, she would reach out to us.”

“But Rowan was the one who did so.”

“It wasn’t the best way to learn about my sister and what happened to her, but she’s alive.” Bastien hadn’t allowed himself to think that she might not be, but sometimes, he’d wondered. It wasn’t surprising that Parrish had found a way to use Celeste. Actually, he would have been surprised if he hadn’t. The man might be an asshole, but he was a smart asshole.

But Bastien wasn’t facing him alone. He might not be enough to take down Parrish, but along with Dermot, Rowan, and the others? He was sure they could make it happen. Hopefully, Parrish wouldn’t do something stupid to Celeste in the meantime. If he did, Bastien would ensure that his death was painful.

Hell, he might do that anyway, just because of how Parrish had treated Celeste all this time.

Chapter Five

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IT HAD BEEN A FEW DAYS, and Bastien had been on edge the entire time. He’d barely slept until last night, when Dermot had forced him to go to bed. He’d spent the night with him, although nothing had happened between them. He’d done it because he’d been able to tell that his presence calmed Bastien in a way that Bastien probably didn’t want to admit. It was the bond between them. It was pushing them together, and right now, Bastien needed Dermot. It was why Dermot hadn’t gone home. They could talk about it later, once they came back from this mission, hopefully with Celeste. It would make for an awkward conversation, but it wouldn’t be the first awkward one they’d had.

It probably wouldn’t be as awkward as Dermot climbing onto Bastien’s bed last night and telling him to go to sleep.

He’d been surprised when Bastien had agreed, but maybe he shouldn’t have been. His mate was exhausted. He still was, even though he’d slept through the night. Dermot suspected that wouldn’t change until Celeste was back with them, which meant they had to get her back today.

“I don’t want anyone to do anything stupid,” Rowan said as he poured himself his first coffee of the morning.

He was staring at Bastien. Clearly, he knew that Dermot’s mate would be a problem, and he wasn’t wrong. No one would blame Bastien for being the problem in this situation, but what he did could put Celeste in danger, which wasn’t something anyone wanted. Bastien might react on instinct, and he’d regret it later, but Dermot’s job was to ensure that didn’t happen. He was going to keep an eye on his mate through the entire mission, and if Bastien even hinted at doing something like taking on Parrish on his own or telling them to fuck off, Dermot would step in. Bastien wouldn’t like it, but Dermot was pretty sure that at the end of the day, he wouldn’t care, not once Celeste was back with him.

Bastien didn’t roll his eyes, but from the way he was looking at Rowan, Dermot was pretty sure it was a close thing. “I’m not an idiot,” he said.

“No one said you were. This is your sister we’re talking about, though. Anyone would be on edge, and no one would blame you for doing something stupid, except that you might blame yourself if something happens to Celeste because of it. You know Parrish. You know how smart he is and that he knows you care about your sister. He’s going to use that against you if he can.”

Bastien rubbed his face with both hands before nodding curtly. “I won’t do anything stupid,” he promised. “I’ll follow orders and stay as far away from Parrish as you need me to. As much as I want him dead, I want my sister back more, and if that means leaving Parrish to you or someone else, I can live with that. I won’t be happy about it, but I can deal with it.” He looked straight at Rowan. “Besides, as angry as I am at Parrish and as delighted as I would be to tear him apart with my bare hands, you have more right to do that than I do.”

Rowan shook his head. “We’re not talking about rights here. A lot of people have been hurt by Parrish. That includes you, me, and others. We all want revenge, and there’s not one of us who deserves it more than the other. The reason I want to kill Parrish is that I don’t want to have to deal with him ever again. I want to live a peaceful life, and he’s stopping me from doing that. I’ve had enough of having to hide in the village because of him. Hopefully, today is the day we finally end this. You focus on your sister. I’ll focus on Parrish.”

Dermot held his breath. He knew that Bastien wanted Parrish to be hurt as much as Parrish had hurt Celeste. Hell, even Dermot wanted it. To be honest, he just wanted Parrish dead, and he didn’t much care how or how painful it was. He just hated that Parrish’s presence around the village was hanging over everyone’s heads and stopping them from fully living their lives. This wasn’t as personal to him as it was to Rowan and Bastien, but he would support the two of them with whatever they wanted to do with Parrish.

He leaned closer to his mate. Bastien nodded. “Look, as much as I want Parrish to pay, my main focus here is my sister. As long as she’s back with me, I don’t really care what happens to Parrish. I need him to die because it’s the only way Celeste will be safe, but I don’t care how it happens or who kills him. You’re welcome to cut his head off or tear him to pieces if you want. Just show me the head when you’re done so I can be a hundred percent sure he’s gone.”

Rowan nodded. For a moment, the two of them looked at each other. Dermot felt like he was intruding. He had history with Kudlak—every Vila and Krsnik did—but Bastien and Rowan shared personal history with Parrish. Bastien was trusting Rowan to make sure that Parrish could never hurt Celeste again. It was a lot to put in Rowan’s hands, but if there was one person who could do that, it was him.

Rowan turned back to Clay, who had his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. He’d been like that since everyone had arrived at their home, and Dermot had understood once he’d been told that Clay would be staying behind. If something happened, the clan would need him. He might be human, but he was a clan leader as much as Rowan was. He wasn’t happy about it, though. He wanted to go with Rowan, and normally, he would, but this time, it would be too dangerous. If Parrish won despite everything, the clan would need Clay to step in, which meant he had to stay behind.

Dermot understood where he was coming from. He and Bastien weren’t even together yet, but he was glad he was going along. He wasn’t sure how he would’ve managed to let Bastien go without him. It didn’t look like Clay was able to do it either, but he didn’t have a choice. Rowan didn’t, either. When they’d agreed to become clan leaders, they’d agreed to put the clan before themselves and what they wanted. It was what made them such good clan leaders.