Anchor of Secrets by Tessa Hale
14
Declan and Ronanstepped in front of me, blocking Chloe’s progress. Her gaze snapped to them. “Seriously?”
Declan glared down at her. “You might want to rethink your words.”
Chloe moved to flick her hair over her shoulder, but that didn’t work with her missing locks. “This is between me and Leighton.”
“Anything to do with Leighton will always concern us because she’s our mate,” Ronan snarled.
Chloe winced at the word mate. “Then maybe the fates are cursing you with a dud because of all your lies. Who wants a mate that can’t anchor them?”
A series of growls filled the air around me.
Chloe paled but didn’t give up, zeroing in on me. “It wasn’t enough that you’re trying to steal them all from me, but you had to take Damien, too?”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “You don’t see the irony in that question?”
Confusion lit in Chloe’s expression.
“You’re the one trying to steal and manipulate. They aren’t your bond. They never have been. And Damien is the last person I would want.” I shivered at the thought.
Redness crept up Chloe’s throat. “They aren’t yours, either. You never manifested.”
I shrugged. “I might not be their anchor, but I am their mate. You’re nothing to them.”
Her face fully flamed then. “I’m more than you’ll ever be, and when I come into my powers, you’ll be sorry you ever crossed me. I’ll—”
Trace stepped forward, eyes flashing. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.”
Chloe’s gaze snapped to him. “Are you seriously willing to go insane just to keep her around?”
A grin spread across Trace’s face, but it had a manic quality to it. “I’m already insane. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s mine.”
Chloe gaped at him, then turned to the rest of the guys. “This is the road you’re willing to go down?”
“Always,” Colt said, tone low and menacing.
Chloe’s eyes flashed. “You’re going to regret that…”
Dash crossed his arms over his chest. “Doubt that. I’d honestly mate with a porcupine if it kept me away from you.”
Declan snorted. “I’m with you, man. Good thing Leighton’s nice and sweet.”
I swore smoke came out of Chloe’s ears. “She’s going to ruin you, but I won’t let you take Damien down with you.”
All the guys stiffened at that.
Colt’s chest rose and fell in ragged pants. “Damien sealed his own fate. The moment The Assembly finds him, he’ll be tried and put to death.”
Chloe scoffed. “For her lies? Doubt it.”
Ronan bared his teeth at her, and she stumbled back a step. “He fucking tortured her.”
Chloe quickly righted herself. “She’s lying. Damien wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. She probably paid some vamp to put those bite marks on her.”
I couldn’t help the shiver that skated over me as her words had memories slamming against my mental walls.
Trace stalked forward, sending Chloe skittering back. “If I find out you helped Damien in any way, I won’t wait for The Assembly to act. I’ll end you. But it won’t be quick. My demon will feast on each and every scream.”
Chloe’s face went deathly pale. “Y-you can’t say that.”
Trace didn’t move, didn’t blink. “I just did.”
Her gaze shot to the guys behind him, as if expecting them to intervene. They didn’t lift a finger. She straightened her shoulders, but I didn’t miss the tremble in her muscles. “You won’t get away with this.” Then she fled without another word.
“Well, that was fun,” Dash muttered.
My heart still hammered against my ribs. It wasn’t because I was scared of Chloe’s threats. It was more. In all that had happened over the past few weeks, I’d lost sight of our original problem. I wasn’t an anchor. I never would be.
Colt pulled out his phone. “I’m going to have one of our guys start tracking her. She could be feeding information to Damien, might lead us to him.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Declan agreed. “That chick is batshit. I’ve never met someone so delusional.”
“We need to keep a close eye on her at school. She could do something to Leighton here,” Ronan said.
Colt nodded. “We’re going to be sticking close.”
Dash studied me, a hand squeezing my arm. “You okay?”
I looked up at the five of them. “Has there ever been a bond that had a mate and an anchor that were two different people?”
The guys went still, none of them saying a single word.
Dread pooled in my belly. “No?”
Their gazes shifted, none of them landing on me.
A burn lit behind my eyes. “No more secrets.” It was a plea. Secrets were what had almost broken us all.
Colt met my stare. “It’s been tried in the past.”
“What happened?” I whispered.
Dash swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the movement. “Something about the two competing relationships threw off the balance of the bond.”
“What does that mean?” I pushed.
“It made everyone in the bond unstable,” Colt said.
“Tell her the truth,” Trace snapped.
My gaze shot to him in question.
He didn’t look away from me when he spoke. “Everyone in the bond fractured. No one made it out alive.”