Page 105 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
As though he can physically see the tether binding my soul to Violette’s.
“Do you feel something strange?” He rubs the center of his sternum. “In this vicinity?”
I meet his gaze with an affirming look. He swears under his breath. Beau quirks a brow. “That mean she’s his soulmate or somethin’?”
“Soulbound,”Gideon corrects.
Beau huffs a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. “Well goddamn, brother. Congratulations.”
My hand rubs anxiously at the spot over my heart.
“What’s with the sorry ass look then?”
And there it is. The whole reason I wanted to avoid the topic.
Beau and Gideon know a little bit about my past, but not nearly in its entirety. Not about my family being in the mafia, that my father’s death was deliberate, witness protection, the favors Astor had to call in to get me into the military—and special forces—without my past being unearthed to lower command.
So, without bringing any of that up, I do my best to succinctly explain why I can’t just dive headfirst into this thing with Violette.
The reason I’m compelled to abandon it.
And that Violette is searching for a way to sever it.
Gideon openly scowls at me.
“You’re a fucking idiot, Graves.”
My gaze snaps to his. “... Did you leave a note inside my nightstand?”
Gideon’s expression contorts in a way that tells me my idiocy is unparalleled.
VIOLETTE
Fuelled by fury, I’ve searched tirelessly for a way to sever my tether to Levi. Tinkered, toiled, and concocted innumerable potions. None of which worked. Several of which gave me indigestion. All of which made me curse Moirai, the Goddess of Fate, and anyone else that might hold power over one’ssoulbound.
To further my dismay, the fact that I am able to detectsoulbondconnections does not equate to having any power over them.
An insidious voice creeps into my mind.
You weren’t good enough for your father; why would you ever be good enough for your soulbound?
A roar leaves my throat as I smash the mirrored glass of my boudoir, reflecting my puffy, red, tear-swollen eyes.
Pain sears across my knuckles as blood trickles from a gash. Taking a deep breath, I plant my hands on either side of the table and permit one last shuddering sob before I resolve to calm myself and begin my search for an alternative solution.
Still, the only one I can come up with begins and ends with Azrael. I can only hope he’ll be interested in bargaining withme. The only thing I have to offer him is leading him to hissoulbound.
I haven’t forgotten that he specifically mentioned that she washiding.
This, of course, means I’m gambling on him evenwantingto find her. Even myfuckholefather would visit my mother...
My feet carry me back to my scrying bowl in my bathing chamber.
The sacred water within hisses in protest as a singular drop of the acidic concoction I created for it kisses its surface. Lilac mist rises as the fluid trembles. A moment later, my father’s bed chamber fills the scrying bowl. Sure enough, my father, another male, and three other females are a tangle of limbs on the bed.
I am thoroughly disgusted.
What my mother ever saw in you, I cannot even begin to surmise, you wretched, gluttonous creature.
