Page 150 of Their Rejected Queen

The center of all this pain… it’s me.

But still, these men don’t point their fingers at me, like anyone in my family would.

Godric blames himself because of the curse of his bloodline.

Arwan is the trigger, and he hates himself for it.

And Ze’ev… he couldn’t protect anyone he cared about because he had been too young.

But he’d survived it.

That spark of hope has me acting on instinct, claiming Ze’ev’s hand and pressing it to my chest. “It’s time for this pain to heal,” I tell him.

Maybe I’m the reason for all this pain.

But that should mean I am the one who can fix it.

He watches me as I take his finger and drag it over Arwan’s broken lip. Neither male moves as I work, and then I draw Ze’ev’s finger to my mouth.

A bond with a hybrid begins with blood sharing.

Then I wrap my fingers around Ze’ev’s neck and pull him down. I run my tongue over the scratch on his cheek, and my tongue tingles with the taste of his blood.

Ice and heat mix inside my body as I react to two distinct bonds fighting to form.

There is a shifter side that wants to hunt, to claim, to fuck.

Then there is the vampire side, one that must devour and delve so deep it secures a claim within my very soul forever.

That’s the part that is dangerous. The tentative beginning of mate bonds between Arwan and me and Godric are what has kept my connection to Ze’ev in check.

But now this might empower him enough to become a real threat.

You won’t hurt us.

I believe in Ze’ev. I trust he can do this with just a little faith placed in his hands.

Arwan’s entire body trembles as he watches me gently kiss the Outcast. I need to mend this. I need to heal them.

I need to heal myself, because I’m the most broken one of all.

Even if I die, I can give them this.

I can give myself this.

Just one little moment in this horrible world where there’s relief from the pain.

Where there can be hope instead.

“Godric,” Arwan says. His voice is scratchy and worn, as if he’s spent hours screaming. “I need you to hold me back.”

There’s a beast inside Arwan. I’ve never seen it before, even though he is a hybrid, but the bright glow in his eyes is full of desperation and the need to claim. The new band around his irises is almost entirely white, making his irises look like frosted glass.

He has held himself back with sheer self-control thus far, but it appears that the impact of this triad has tipped him over to revealing a part of himself he never seems to let out.

Godric doesn’t say a word as he steps behind the royal and hooks his arms, making Arwan arch with a grunt as he locks into place.

He watches me as Ze’ev takes advantage and unbuttons my pants that feel far too tight.