Page 22 of Twilight of Embers
“Oh,” Hayden murmured. “It’s nice that you have that.”
There was an undisguised longing in her voice, a yearning to belong. An ache lit deep in my chest. My mate had felt alone, that much was clear.
“You’ll have it now, too,” Knox assured her.
Hayden’s eyes flared in surprise, and I sent him a look of warning. She wouldn’t understand why Knox was so quickly trying to bring her into the fold. If he moved too fast, he could scare Hayden off, and that was the last thing we needed.
She picked at her sandwich. “It’d be nice to meet your friends.”
I wanted to laugh. She said it as if we were some sort of childhood playgroup. But she had no idea.
Knox grinned. “They’re going to love you.”
Hayden glanced down at her watch. “Crap! I have to be at the meeting with my advisor in five minutes.”
Knox scowled as she quickly rose. “You didn’t eat your sandwich.”
“I’ll eat it after.” Hayden quickly wrapped it up and took off toward the science building. “Thanks for lunch. Nice to meet you, Maddox.”
My gut tightened at the sound of my name on her lips. Perfect berry pink lips—shit. I had to shut that down. But I still watched her until she disappeared inside.
Knox shoved me. “I told you.”
My gaze jerked to him. “She doesn’t show any sign of scenting us.”
Knox’s expression darkened. “Her parents were killed, murdered. She ended up in foster care.”
Rage sparked to life from somewhere deep, a blazing inferno almost impossible to tamp down.
“Mad, your eyes,” Knox warned.
I closed them, working to get myself under control. I breathed deep, going to that Zen place I always did when my beast tried to take the reins. But he wanted to rage for his mate, to defend her and annihilate anyone who had caused her pain.
When I finally opened my eyes again, I was back in control.
“This is going to be tricky,” Knox muttered. “How the hell are we going to explain it to her?”
I didn’t have the first clue. “We have to tread carefully. And I can’t be involved.”
Knox gaped at me. “She’s our mate.”
“And she’s a student at this university. I can’t touch her for at least four years.”
Knox’s jaw only dropped further. “Mad, you’ll be in agony.”
He was right. Staying away from your mate went against every instinct we had. It could cause physical pain, even sickness. “I don’t have a choice.”
He shook his head. “That’s dumb—”
“Don’t,” I clipped. “Let’s focus on the more important things. We need to make sure she’s safe. Protected.” I sighed. “We need to call Cillian.”
Our alpha had been back East, dealing with family drama, but he needed to know this.
Knox sent me a worried look. “We have to tell Cáel. He’s going to lose it.”
I winced. Cáel wasn’t altogether stable. He’d been too broken for that. And I wasn’t sure what a mate bond would do to him. He might gut every man that looked at Hayden. What a hell of a mess that would be to clean up.
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