Page 41 of Tethered Fates

“You aren’t wrong, Kai.” Vidar cups his mate’s chin, stroking soothing circles into the scarred side. “But in this, Elio isn’t lying.”

“What’s happening?” Teagan asks, poking his head around my arm. His black curls fall away from his sweet face.

I curl my fingers into fists to stay focused on Elio. Otherwise, I’d lose myself in the beautiful depths of Teagan’s obsidian gaze, framed in long, silky lashes.

I work not to roll my eyes. Next, I’ll be putting posters of Teagan’s face on my walls.

“Something you’re probably familiar with, Teagan,” Bran remarks while examining his short nails. His interest wanes now that the juicy gossip is out. “It’s a control spell.”

Elio’s lips purse, gaze hot.

“Oops, did I spill a secret?” Bran quips, brushing an invisible speck of lint from his sleeve.

Elio throws a look of angry disgust at Bran. “Don’t worry. I’ve never been allowed to keep anything to myself, anyway.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“You’re kind of a dick,” Teagan says, his raspy voice quiet as usual, but all bravado. My brave boy.

“I’ve been told,” Bran replies smoothly.

Teagan comes around me. I whip my arm out, but he just rolls his eyes and shoves me away.

“Elio, right?” Teagan asks. Elio nods. “Listen, you’ve given enough, and you’ve helped. Summer…she took a choice away from me. It sucked. Fuck everyone else, they’re all dickheads anyway.”

“Teagan,” Kai groans, dropping his head into his hands.

I grin. My soulmate is absolutely delightful.

Teagan pays no attention to his brother. “So if you wanna walk away now, do it. They won’t stop you.”

“I will if I have to,” Vidar states. My jaw ticks at my Maker’s stubborn, unrelenting attitude. I’ll have to remind him that while Teagan might one day join our vampire family, my mate will never be his to command. Teagan is mine. “To keep Kai and you, Teagan, and the others safe, I’ll do whatever is necessary for this family.”

“And I’ll never speak with Kai again. Never.” Teagan glares at Vidar, and Kai looks up, eyes flashing with hurt. “I ain’t forcing anyone to do shit just because you can throw your weight around.”

“Well said,” I drawl, lifting an eyebrow at Vidar, daring him to argue back. I couldn’t give a shit about Elio, but if my mate wants it, then so be it.

Bran laughs. “You’ve got yourself a lively one, Sen.”

Vidar growls low in his chest.

The rage in Elio’s expression recedes the longer he stays connected to Teagan. His shoulders remain tucked under his ears, but his mouth relaxes into what some would even call a smile.

Or a friendly grimace.

“They really are dickheads, aren’t they?” Elio drops his shirt to conceal his belly button. “It’s a spell Emma carved into my stomach when I was…” An emotion flickers, but is quickly shaken away and replaced with a scowl that’s fast becoming familiar. “It doesn’t matter when. All you need to know is that anyone related to me by blood can force me into doing whatever they want with a single word.”

Teagan steps forward. I grind my molars to resist pulling him away. He asked me to trust him, and I’m trying to do that. Kai, on the other hand, grabs his bleached braids and looks like he’s seconds away from exploding.

“Teagan! Stop getting closer to the fucking mage.”

“Your Mum did that shit to you?” Teagan gestures with his chin to Elio’s stomach, not even offering Kai a backwards glance. “That’s fucked.”

“That’s one way of putting it. She didn’t do it to my older siblings, though. Just me.”

“You’re a little brother, too?”

They both side-eye Kai, who’s turning a very interesting shade of purple, then share a laugh.