Page 17 of Those That Defy the Realm

Rearranging the pillows to get comfy and leaning back against the headboard of my bed, I reach for my phone. It’s pretty much stayed in my bedside drawer since we’ve been back, for fear of Antares meddling with it again and discovering I never deleted the app. Clara’s messages are burned into my retinas, but I open the thread anyway and look at them again.

Today’s been a trying one. I’m opening a bottle of red and rewatching a cheesy movie.

Hey, hope you’re alright? My hangover today was not worth it. [laughing emoji]

I feel stupid sending a third message, since you’ve not replied, but I guess I’m worried.

Message received. I’ll leave you alone.

I thought you were different from all the rest.

Rubbing the end of day scruff on my chin, the guilt clogs my throat. When I’d initially left, I’d simply felt horrid because I’d forgotten my phone. There had been nothing I could do, although I’d tried to log into the app on my laptop. But as Antares had added the thing in the first place, I had no idea which username or password would grant me access.

We’ve been back for over two weeks, though. On any of the days, even that first day, I could’ve reached out.

My head's just been so messed up, I haven’t found the right words. And I’ve had to put all my energy into getting my novel up to scratch, the reason we returned when we did in the first place. Between dealing with vampires threatening our lives and keeping my career afloat, I haven’t known how to break the ice with Clara.

Her messages sound like she was truly hurt and disappointed over my sudden silence.

Maybe it’s best I just leave it.

Let it go.

But I can’t get myself to delete the app either.

Nor can I bring myself to ask Antares if he went into the app when he’d contacted me—via my own phone—to let me know he was crashing in my apartment when I wasn’t here.

He’s not brought it up, which is a small mercy. And as I’m now keeping the device firmly hidden away I hope he’ll never touch the thing again.

Tapping the screen to bring up the keyboard, I go to type something but my thumbs refuse to work.

No, I should just leave it.

Locking the device, I put it back in the drawer and pick up a novel instead. I bet Clara has moved on. Her initial anger will have dissipated and she’ll have forgotten all about me. We were barely a blip in each other’s lives anyway.

Life continues to be utter chaos over the next few weeks.

My prediction that Ty and Rory would ask me to join their pack was quicker to come to pass than I expected. Being bonded to others is a very odd feeling, one that I’m still trying to wrangle into submission.

Even with all the unknowns, I hadn’t truly considered saying no. Ty and I fought together on the battle fields; my bond to him goes without question. Heading into a fight with him again is risky, daunting even, but I wouldn’t let him go it alone with his mate. And if they needed to feel unified with the pack bonds first, so be it. Now was the time.

I also hadn’t anticipated how soon we’d be back on a boat, this time heading to Froan’s capital and the islands namesake. There are a few other villages now spread around its coast but for centuries the city was the only inhabited section, and so I guess the name just stuck.

For Ty and Rory there wasn’t much upside to waiting. The sooner Adicious’s pack were off their backs the sooner they could breathe a little easier. And stop being cooped up in my small apartment. As soon as they’d learned there were scouts in West Scotia looking for them they hatched a plan to strike as soon as they could.

Assuming we survived this slightly hairbrained scheme, they’d have their lands back in just a couple of weeks.

I’d be able to stay with them for a while, but my obligations to the university in the capital would mean I’d have to leave by the autumn. Despite West Scotia being my home, my chest feels tight at the thought of being separated, the newly formed pack bond in my veins constricting the blood vessels and giving me palpitations until I surrender to it.

But I have to worry about that later, as right now we need to not get caught sneaking back into a city where two of our group have very large death warrants on their heads, and one also has an open missing person’s case with the authorities. A delightful extra complication that Rory’s friends informed her of when we ran into one of them back in the capital city.

Bree—as Rory’s fae friend Bianca liked to be called—had been overjoyed that Rory wasn’t actually murdered, dead or kidnapped by her boyfriend—a.k.a Ty. Understandably, at her disappearance last year, they had informed the authorities and started a campaign to find her. It’s sweet really, but an annoyance for us right now when we have to get into the city centre without being recognised.

Hanging back as the passengers disembark, Antares keeps watch—yes, he also accepted a pack bond—while the rest of us hang back. Rory is able to disguise herself at least using her magic to create a glamoured version of herself so she doesn’t look anything like her true form.

Ty, on the other hand, will be easily recognisable, so we’re reliant on the bustle of the docks and his shadows to keep us all from being spotted.

“Mitch is walking down the gangway,” Antares whisper-shouts at the three of us. We’re waiting until the last second to leave, to give Mitch a chance to run interference with any of Adicious’s pack that might be waiting on the docks.