Bound

  conclusion. “You’re a bondmate. You shouldn’t be doing housework,

  and you shouldn’t live in a cottage that’s falling down around you.”

  Her frustration made her eyes squeeze shut. “Shouldn’t I decide

  what I want or don’t want?”

  “You don’t know enough to decide,” Beck explained with a

  dismissive wave. “Back up. We have to leave now.”

  Meg backed off as Dante hopped on the cycle in one graceful

  move.

  “I left you my computer.” Dante nodded in her direction. “I

  showed you how to use it, remember? Look up bonding, and it will

  give you a description of how to get Cian to bond with you. It’s

  connected to the web on the Vampire plane. You should be able to

  find just about any information you need.”

  Meg nodded her head dully. Beck was really leaving, and he

  hadn’t kissed her goodbye. Hell, if she hadn’t woken when she did, he

  would have left without seeing her at all. She took a deep breath and

  tried to come to terms with the fact that she had, perhaps, been wrong

  about him. He hadn’t really wanted her. Men could feel lust for

  women they didn’t really care about. He had explained it at the time.

  132

  Sophie Oak

  His brother was dying. They needed a bondmate, and she was the

  only one to be found. Was it such a surprise that, having done his

  duty, he would want to be away from her?

  All that other stuff, all the stuff about caring about her and never

  cheating on her, had been lies. It wouldn’t be the first time some guy

  had told her what she wanted to hear to get her to do something. She

  had to give Beck a little credit. At least he had done it to save his

  brother.

  “I’ll be back in a few weeks.” Beck looked slightly concerned for

  the first time. He slid off the bike and came to stand in front of her.

  He towered over her, but this time his massive size didn’t make her

  feel secure. “You’ll be fine.”

  He moved to touch her, but she stepped back. He was just trying

  to keep her in line. Being physically affectionate with her had worked

  so far. It wasn’t surprising he would try it again. “Sure.”

  He reached out and pulled her into his arms. “Meggie, don’t cry. It

  will be fine. We need money. I have to work. I told you I spent the

  last of our gold on the tournament.”

  She stood stiffly in his arms, knowing better than to try to break

  free. She would only make a fool of herself, and she’d done enough of

  that lately. “Fine.”

  He sighed and seemed reluctant to let her go. His hands found her

  hair. “I’m sorry about last night. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”

  She shrugged and wished he’d just go ahead and leave. “I won’t

  bother you with it again. I didn’t understand.”

  She knew he’d been fighting something. She’d just been wrong

  about what he had been fighting. He didn’t want to have sex with her.

  She was convenient, and he was male. He needed sex, but he’d

  obviously found the experience distasteful. He always shut down the

  bond. Now she knew why. He didn’t want her to know how he really

  felt. It should have been obvious even without the bond. After all, he

  had chosen to sleep in a barn rather than sleeping with her.

  Bound

  133

  And yet she’d felt his need the night before. It had broken over

  her like a wave crashing on a beach. She’d seen little pieces of his

  soul. There was a kindness in Beck that didn’t mesh with his current

  cruelty. He loved his brother. He’d risked his life to save her. At

  times, she’d felt a genuine affection come from him. The confusion

  had her in knots. But in the end he couldn’t possibly want her if he

  was willing to leave her.

  He smiled slightly, a little uptick of his lips. “You just don’t

  understand our ways, yet. It’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”

  “Sure.” She replied because he seemed to want a response. She

  couldn’t see that anything would be fine.

  He reached out and tilted her head up. A lazy, warm look came

  over his handsome face. “May I kiss you, wife?”

  That seemed to Meg to be the cruelest thing he could do. She

  pushed away from him. “Don’t call me ‘wife.’ Call me your

  bondmate or whatever, but I’m not your wife.”

  His eyes flared at the challenge. “You damn well are, and you

  better not forget it.” He took a deep breath and got back on the bike.

  “Don’t try leaving, Meg. I’ll find you, and I won’t be happy when I

  do.”

  He patted Dante on the shoulder. The bike levitated roughly ten

  feet off the ground, and they took off.

  “Where the hell would I go?” Meg asked, to no one in particular.

  She was alone in a world that was so foreign it was legendary on

  her home plane. She was a city girl who didn’t know how to make

  dinner that didn’t come neatly wrapped in plastic. She was, once

  again, in love with a man who couldn’t love her back. Meg sank

  down, put her head between her hands, and cried.

  Cian dropped down behind her wordlessly. She wasn’t sure when

  he had come out, but he’d probably heard everything. She didn’t fight

  him when he gathered her into his arms and rocked her while she

  sobbed.

  134

  Sophie Oak

  * * * *

  An hour later, Meg had dried her tears and gotten dressed for the

  day. Cian sat at the kitchen table watching her as Meg tried to figure

  out how to cook the eggs she’d found when she’d bravely ventured

  into the chicken coop. She had felt bad. It seemed to her that all the

  chickens were looking at her like they knew she’d eaten their sister

  last night. There was judgment in those little black chicken eyes. If

  she hadn’t been so hungry, she would have run out because those

  beaks looked dangerous. But her stomach had warred with her fear of

  being pecked, and hunger won.

  She had gathered five eggs when she heard a low sound. She had

  looked across the yard and seen Cian milking a cow. He still had to be

  told her name every few minutes, but he seemed happy enough to

  follow her around and do the odd chore. He hadn’t tried to get back

  into bed. Meg had feared she would spend the day coaxing him out.

  Instead, he shadowed her.

  Now he sat patiently, watching and drinking milk from a mug.

  Meg had tried it, and despite her fear that warm milk would be gross,

  she found it slightly sweet.

  There was a strange little oven that Beck had used last night, but

  there was no stove top. There was a grill in the hearth, though. After

  poking her head into all the cabinets, she came up with an iron skillet.

  She might never have been camping, but she’d read enough books to

  know how to cook. At least in theory.

  “Are you hungry?” Meg smiled at Cian as she cracked the eggs

  into the skillet. She used a fork to whisk them. There were only four

  forks, two knives, and three spoons. None of them matched.

  “I am.” Cian studied her for a moment, his eyes moving across her
r />   face. “Did my brother send you to take care of me?”

  “Yes.” She gave him a sad nod. It was the truth. Beck had bought

  her to save his brother. She had a job to do.

  “You’re very pretty,” Cian said, almost shyly.

  Bound

  135

  Meg wondered how old he thought he was. Sometimes he came

  off as almost childlike. Other times he looked at her with barely

  controlled lust in his eyes. He hadn’t acted on it. Meg felt perfectly

  safe with him, but it could be difficult to keep up with the changes.

  After they ate, Meg intended to get this bonding thing done, so she

  could have another fully functional, non-crazy teammate.

  After she had broken down, Meg had made a few decisions. She

  was stuck here. She wasn’t getting home, so she had two options. She

  could lie down and cry. She could bemoan her fate and become bitter,

  or she could get off her ass and make do. She could be dependent on

  the people around her, or she could learn really damn fast. As she

  didn’t intend to act as Beck’s wife again, she decided she’d better be a

  fast learner.

  She had discovered a small room while exploring the barn. It had

  a cot where Beck had slept the night before and a little stove to keep it

  warm. It wasn’t much, but she could stay there and be fairly

  comfortable. From what she’d read on the computer Dante had left

  behind, she understood that the brothers needed her to remain close to

  at least one of them. Somehow, her brain formed connections with

  theirs and allowed them to function. There had been a bunch of brain-

  numbing chemistry and science that she’d skimmed over.

  There was nothing in the vampire information that claimed sex

  was needed at all, so Meg thought it best she slept apart from them.

  She doubted Beck would have a problem with it. Once she made it

  clear to him he didn’t have to worry about her sexual advances

  anymore, he would probably get on board with her plans.

  If she wasn’t the type of woman who brought out a man’s

  protective instincts, then she’d better learn to be independent. A room

  of her own would help. It would be far too hard to sleep beside them

  every night and not be able to touch them. Once Cian was rational

  again, Meg had no doubt he would be slightly horrified to find out he

  was married to someone his brother had such distaste for.

  136

  Sophie Oak

  Meg pulled the pan off the grill using a thick towel. The eggs

  were a little burnt, but edible. It was a minor triumph. She scooped

  the largest part out onto a plate for Cian. He was bigger than she was

  and looked like he could use the calories. She was going to have to

  figure out how to fatten him up.

  “Thanks,” he said gratefully as he dug in. “My sister likes eggs,

  but she likes them fried. When she gets up, will you make some for

  her, too?”

  It was easier to play along than to explain over and over and over.

  “Of course,” she murmured as she picked up her fork.

  They ate in silence for a few minutes. Cian then seemed

  fascinated by the sight of his hand. He held it up in the light and

  looked very confused. His head whirled around, and he took in the

  cottage.

  “This isn’t my home.” Cian looked around the cottage. He

  sounded the slightest bit panicked. “Where am I?” He looked so lost.

  He caught her hand and held it tightly. “I don’t know where I am.”

  If Beck had been standing in front of her, she would have clocked

  him with the iron skillet. Cian needed him, and he’d left. She

  understood that they needed money, but it could have waited a day or

  two. She held Cian’s hand in both of hers. “You’re safe. I promise

  you.”

  “Is he having a rough day?” a voice asked from the window in the

  kitchen.

  Meg turned, slightly startled to see a lovely blonde woman

  standing at the window. “I wouldn’t know what a normal day is like.”

  “Sometimes he remembers, but that’s only when his brother is

  around,” the blonde explained with a tight smile. “With Beck being

  gone again, he’ll probably deteriorate. It’s terrible that he had to leave again so soon. He just got back yesterday, and now he’s off to the

  Vampire plane.”

  Meg felt her heart drop to her toes. “How did you know he was

  gone?”

  Bound

  137

  As far as Meg knew, Beck hadn’t been into the village. No one

  had visited them yesterday.

  There was no small amount of sympathy in the other woman’s

  eyes. Meg got the feeling the blonde was trying to tell her something.

  “He told me last night. He asked if I would come up and see if you

  needed anything. Cian can be difficult.”

  Cian was looking at the blonde. He came around and put his hands

  on Meg’s shoulders. He seemed to be concentrating very intently.

  Every muscle in his body seemed bunched and tight as though he was

  ready for a fight. “You shouldn’t be here. Go away.”

  “You see. He’s difficult. I hope he doesn’t get violent with you. I

  don’t know what Beck was thinking, leaving you with him. He can be

  so insensitive some times. You know men.” There was now a slight

  sheen of tears in the woman’s eyes. She made a scene of trying to

  hide them.

  The blonde before her was tall and delicately feminine. She had a

  perfect face with light blue eyes and cheekbones any model would

  have killed for. Meg didn’t buy the tears, though. They seemed fake.

  “What can I do for you, Miss?”

  “I am Liadan.” The introduction came with a slight sniffle. “I live

  in the house on the other side of the fields. I have known the brothers

  for several years now.”

  “Beck likes her, but I don’t,” Cian said stubbornly.

  Meg didn’t like her either. There was something very cold about

  the blonde though she was obviously trying to be friendly. “All right,

  Liadan, what can I do for you?”

  She seemed put off by Meg’s forwardness. “Like I said, last night

  when His Highness visited me, he asked me to check in on you. He

  wanted me to see if there was anything you needed. He was

  concerned about his brother, you see. He told me he brought you in to

  save Cian. The king loves his brother very much. He is willing to

  sacrifice his own happiness for his brother.”

  138

  Sophie Oak

  “His happiness with you?” Meg asked boldly because she was

  done playing around with the woman who had obviously come to size

  up the competition.

  Liadan gasped. Her cornflower blue eyes narrowed. “Well, if

  we’re going to be plain, then, yes, he’s sacrificing the happiness he’s

  found with me. We’ve been together for almost a year now.”

  “I haven’t been with her.” Cian seemed very intent on making

  Meg understand he had nothing to do with his brother’s mistress.

  “Like I would have you.” There was a sneer on Liadan’s face as

  she looked at Cian. It didn’t go away when she turned back to Meg.

  She didn’t seem so pre
tty now. “Look, I’ve heard you’re human, so

  you don’t know how this works. Beck is mine. He has been for a

  while now. He chose me. He’s just stuck with you. He hopes you can

  keep Cian alive, and he’s willing to endure this marriage because of

  it.”

  Cian was getting upset. His hands twitched. Meg could feel his

  anger rising. It made it easier to ignore her own emotions. She put her

  hands over his and rubbed. It seemed to help. “You’re upsetting him.

  I’m not going to do some hair-pulling, name-calling thing with you. If

  you want Beck, feel free to have him, sister. I don’t consider myself

  married to him, anyway. I am well aware of the place I have in his

  life. If you can make him happy, more power to you.”

  Now her husband’s honey looked seriously confused. “You don’t

  care that he will continue to come to my bed?”

  “I have no intentions of sleeping with him, so go for it,” Meg said

  as simply as she could. Meeting Liadan helped a lot. It explained why

  Beck would be as hesitant as he was. He was in love with someone

  else. Meg just wished he had been up front and honest with her. She

  would have helped Cian regardless, and she wouldn’t have had her

  heart broken.

  The blonde nodded. “As long as we understand each other.” She

  turned to go, but then came back. “He’s going to kill me for this, but I

  Bound

  139

  can’t just let you do it. You should think twice before you bond with

  Cian.”

  “I want to bond with her.” Cian’s hands tightened possessively.

  “She is our wife.”

  Liadan sighed and rolled her eyes impatiently at Cian. She

  focused on Meg. “He’s too far gone. If you bond with him, he’ll pull

  you into his madness. You’ll end up just like him. Beck didn’t

  mention that, did he?”

  Meg shook her head. He hadn’t mentioned that possibility.

  “Of course he didn’t,” the other woman said. “You would be safer

  walking away. There is the slight possibility that Beck would die, but

  he’s the stronger half. He would most likely live if Cian faded. It

  would be hard, but he could be stronger for it.”

  “I won’t fade,” Cian swore. He seemed to be talking to himself