Chapter 7
Bianca POV
I looked across my room, ensuring I hadn’t forgotten anything I could use for our trip. While I wasn’t well prepared, the few supplies I’d manage to wrangle would do well enough. My duffle bag was ready with sweatshirts, leggings, socks, a bar of soap, and a hairbrush.
The rest of the gear fell to the boys, and I hoped they were progressing in packing. Titus seemingly had a ready supply of camping supplies in the garage, but they had been dragging their feet throughout breakfast.
It was like they weren’t bothered that Miles was out lost in the woods somewhere.
I nodded at my room. Yes, I was more than ready to gather up my wayward witch. And once he was back home—where he was meant to be—we could discuss why he thought running off in the middle of the night was acceptable.
I dragged my bag on the floor behind me as I descended the shiny, refurbished stairs.
Wilderness survival wasn’t my favorite activity, but maybe this would be a good opportunity for the five of us to bond.
Perhaps my skills might even be helpful. This was my chance to make a good impression.
I still pulled my bag behind me as I stepped into Damen’s entryway, where the sight of Bryce, Brayden, and Finn lingering in front of the doorway made me pause.
Why were they also wearing hiking gear?
“What is this?” I asked, frowning at Julian, who’d broken away from conversation with Titus and stepped to my side.
Julian reached for my bag, picked it up, and tossed it to Titus. “Did you pack enough?” he asked, not waiting for an answer. “They’re only coming along part of the way. Be nice.”
I was being nice. But seriously, didn’t these people have lives?
“Bryce wants to come.” Damen stepped beside me and threw his arm over my shoulders. “He said he needs to defend your honor.”
Excuse me ?
I narrowed my gaze at Bryce, but the other man didn’t even have the courtesy of looking in my direction.
“We’ll be fine,” Titus was telling them. “You know we’d never let anything happen. It would be best if you stayed. There’s more than enough to do with the investigation. Besides, he might not come out if you’re there.”
“We’ll stay in the hotel.” Brayden stepped between them. “Just in case he doubles back before you find him.”
“Why are you trying to make her hate him?” Julian glared at Damen. “That’s just childish!”
There was a smirk in Damen’s eyes as he readied his retort, but this was more important. I curled my fingers in his burgundy fleece, capturing his attention as the mirth faded from his expression.
“What investigation?” I asked, glancing at Julian. He stood still, expression carefully blank.
This had better not be what I thought.
Julian’s blue eyes, usually so tranquil, turned dangerously cold at my question. He glanced toward Damen, mouth open to answer—
“We’ll talk after we come back,” Damen interrupted, spinning me from Julian to face him. He held me firmly by the shoulders, a commanding, decisive tone in his voice that shot chills down my spine. “Don’t worry about it right now.”
I held his gaze, hoping that my displeasure was evident in my glare.
“I knew you’d understand,” he said, petting my head. “You always do.”
“It’s like he wants to die,” Finn said to Brayden, nodding in Damen’s direction. “And I just saved his life yesterday too.”
“Let it go,” Brayden answered. “I can’t wait to see the explosion. You can’t save people from their own stupidity; you should know this first-hand.”
Finn stepped back, fingers tightening over the straps of his backpack. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just stop it.” Brayden rolled his eyes. “I see straight through your little games. You’re just embarrassing yourself.” Then, catching on to the fact I was watching him, Brayden’s derision turned to innocence. He stepped forward, grabbing my hand and pulling me from Damen and Julian.
“I’ve put in a request for the books you asked for,” he said, cupping his mouth between us as if we shared a great secret.
“And here’s something else.” He slipped a pamphlet into the open V of my fleece.
“Some local folklore on the place we’re going.
Don’t tell the others. Bryce will be a complete pain in the ass if he knows. ”
“Oh…” I pressed my hand to my chest. “Thank you.”
Titus’s Yukon was roomy enough for us to spread out over three rows. I’d taken up residence in the back—alongside Brayden and Finn—where we procured a lap desk and played Old Maid to pass the time.
Julian and Bryce were in the middle seats, their heads tilted toward each other in conversation. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Julian’s posture was unusually relaxed as he flipped through his book, only occasionally glancing up to acknowledge Bryce.
I tried to focus on my cards, but my attention kept drifting to the rear-view mirror, where I could see Titus’s stern expression. His lips moved as he said something that made Julian’s mouth quirk slightly—a sight that only fueled my growing unease.
“This is a waste of time,” Finn grumbled. “He clearly doesn’t want to be found.”
Julian barely looked up from his book as he nodded. “It is much more peaceful without his constant lectures.”
“Well, we’re siccing Bianca on him now,” Brayden replied. “It’s going to be hilarious.”
I frowned at him. What was he implying?
“True,” Bryce nodded. “She can be quite formidable. Imagine if she’d been around that time he vanished for three weeks. Where was he anyway?”
“He was living with a family of raccoons,” Julian answered mildly as he turned a page in his book. “In a treehouse.”
“That wasn’t nearly as bad as when he decided to become a wandering minstrel,” Titus said, and I glanced to the front of the car. His smirk reflected through the visor mirror. “I still have his lute hidden in the garage.”
“Such a hassle,” Finn replied, stealing a card from Brayden. “Some of you seem to forget that you have people whose job is to keep tabs on you. Why make our lives more difficult?”
“Really?” Brayden lowered his cards slightly to look at Finn. “Since when do you care? You never bothered to take your role seriously before.”
Finn glanced at me and frowned. “Is that so?” he asked.
“W-what? Why are you looking at me?” I felt myself flush. My heart began to race, and I was flustered at the utmost disrespect. “Plus”—I turned from my ex-best friend and glared at the others—“how can you all be so calm about this? Miles is out there alone, and none of you are concerned!”
“He’s not a baby,” Finn told me. “He can take care of himself.”
“That’s not the point!” I snapped.
“Bianca,” Damen said, twisting to face me, and my attention strayed to his lips. “None of us would be in this car if we weren’t concerned.”
“You were just going to let him be until I said something,” I replied, pointing at him.
“I understand you’re anxious, but there’s no need to be rude,” Damen replied. “You forget that this is not unusual behavior for Miles.”
“That doesn’t make it normal for me!” I argued.
“I know that,” Damen nodded. “That is why we’re going to look for him now. So you will feel better.”
I leaned back as my face burned. “You’re doing this to humor me?”
“No,” Damen replied. “I just want you to see, first hand, that there’s no reason to worry.
You need to trust in the Quintet Bond and Miles, even if we disagree with his methods.
Besides, we would know if something happened to him.
We would know if he was in danger. I would be able to feel it.
That is a part of my abilities as the leader of this quintet. ”
“Oh.” I pressed my lips together. “The same way you knew what was happening to me?”
A chill descended over the vehicle, and Damen’s voice was chipped when he responded, “What?”
“I’m just saying.” I shrugged, trying to keep my voice light. “You all keep telling me to believe in this supernatural connection—but it doesn’t seem very dependable, does it?”
“I never would have stood by if I’d known what was happening,” Damen said, his voice quieter now, his brows furrowing—not in defensiveness, but something closer to frustration, maybe even guilt.
“Never thought you would,” I replied, my voice clipped. “That’s not my point.”
His gaze was sharp. “Then what is? You’re angry about it.”
I frowned at him. “I’m not angry.”
“Yes, you are.” His voice was calm, but there was a certainty in it that made the hair on my neck rise. “You wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I looked away. “Th-that’s not what I was saying. I—I just don’t get it.”
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I took a deep breath as I looked out the window. “Never mind.”
“Bianca—” Julian began, lowering his book. He turned toward me, his fingers brushing against mine. “You don’t need to…”
His words trailed off as—before I could stop myself—I pulled away. “S-sorry,” I said, unable to look at him despite the flash of hurt crossing our bond. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine.” I didn’t have to be looking at Damen to hear him, and his disapproval hung heavy in the air. I wished for nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
This had not been my intention for this conversation. I just wanted them to care about Miles. To show an ounce of worry.
Damen was still looking at me, though, and I tensed as he started, “You can’t run away for—”
“Leave her alone.” Finn’s voice cut through the tension like a knife. The cards scattered across my lap as he moved to shield me from Damen’s intense stare.
“Excuse me?” Damen asked.
“For once, I agree with him,” Bryce cut in, his aristocratic drawl cutting through the tension. “For someone so well-versed in psychology, you’re being remarkably obtuse. Even I can see that.”
The two exchanged a glance and Finn nodded, his shoulders squaring as he gained confidence from Bryce’s support.
The air grew thick with unspoken tension. Brayden looked between them, eyes wide, and Julian and Titus watched Damen. The playful mood from earlier had long since vanished, and I unconsciously leaned toward Finn’s protective presence.
“This isn’t your concern,” Damen replied. “She’s the one who brought up our connection as a quintet.”
“It’s my concern if she starts crying.” Finn’s hand shook as he adjusted his glasses. “She’s sitting right next to me.”
“Yeah, I wonder how that happened.” Damen snorted, finally turning a suspicious gaze to Finn. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how you shoved Bryce into the second row just to get back there.”
Finn’s expression twisted almost comically, his face turning a deep scarlet. “I just didn’t want to sit beside Julian.”
“Whatever,” Damen said. “Just don’t forget your role—and the rules.”
“I know the damn rules.” Finn’s voice cracked with emotion as he turned to stare out of Bryce’s window. “I’ve been reciting them every day for ten years.”
“Ten years?” Julian scoffed, the tension loosening from his frame. “That’s nothing.”
I blinked as the heavy weight on my chest loosened, and my hands stopped shaking. My thoughts scrambled as my attention latched on to this—rather than Julian, Bryce, and Brayden’s probing expressions.
Why would Finn be reciting rules to himself every day? I had a suspicion, but there was no way I was correct.
Then again, the facts were undeniable. Finn and Bryce’s Er Bashou bond, the guilt Finn must feel over lying to his quintet, and now, their improving partnership.
The realization hit me like a wave—Finn was in love with Bryce!
Why else would he seek to separate us? For years, he’d deceived the person he adored, and now we were married because of his incompetence.
We might not have needed such deception if he’d gone to Damen sooner. The knowledge must be eating him alive.
My heart raced as everything clicked into place. The signs had been there all along—Bryce’s knowledge of women’s shoes, Colette’s hints about his sexuality, and Finn’s resistance to my subtle flirtations. It made so much sense.
It could be my purpose to help their relationship blossom into something beautiful. Then, I wouldn’t feel sad knowing everyone hated Finn, and Bryce could finally find happiness. Best of all, I’d be freed from this false marriage.
Everyone would win! What a perfect plan.
“I don’t know what the hell she just came up with.” I caught Julian saying from the corner of my vision. “But at least she’s not sad anymore.”