Dermot (Krsnik Clan #7)

Chapter One

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DERMOT DIDN’T TRUST easily. No one would blame him if they knew his history, least of all the people around him right now.

They shared part of that history, after all.

It was why they’d banded together in the first place.

All of them had lost their families and the people they loved most to the Kudlak, and they’d had to build new families and new safe places to live.

Dermot still wasn’t completely sure that the village was a safe place, but it was safer than being out there, especially on his own, so here he was.

He stared at Celeste. She was sitting at the table, calmly talking with Tamsin and a few other Vila.

She seemed at ease, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, but she was a Kudlak’s mate.

She was mated to the worst Kudlak that Dermot had ever encountered, and that was saying something since Kudlak had exterminated his family.

They’d decimated his clan, had killed the people he cared about until no one was left.

But Celeste didn’t have anything to do with that, which was why Dermot was giving her the benefit of the doubt, or rather, why he wasn’t insisting that she needed to leave.

Of course, it wasn’t his place to make a decision, anyway.

He wasn’t the clan leader. No, that would be Rowan and Clay, the Krsnik and the human.

Dermot wasn’t sure what a human understood of these things, but Vila and Krsnik had been living together since the beginning of time.

Krsnik had always guided and protected Vila, and that still hadn’t changed, clearly.

Dermot was sure that if he wanted to, he’d be allowed to leave and create his own clan, but he was only one man. He’d die if he tried to do that.

And he didn’t want to die.

He didn’t trust Celeste. She was still bonded to Parrish, even though Parrish had mistreated her. There was no way to know what she’d do for him, even though she’d left him. Their bond was strong, no matter what happened between them. They were mates.

“You know, you could try looking a little less angry at her,” Hamlin murmured from where he was sitting next to Dermot.

Dermot kept his gaze forward and ignored his friend. Hamlin knew why Dermot was like this. He shouldn’t be surprised. He probably wasn’t, actually.

Jimmy sighed. “Look, I get it, but we need her. She has information on Parrish that we can’t get any other way.

She’s willing to help us. She might be bonded to him, but she wants to get rid of him, and the best way for her to do that is for Parrish to die.

She can’t kill him on her own, but we can.

Even if you don’t trust her, you should trust that she’ll help us just because of that. ”

“I don’t trust her,” Dermot hissed. “No one should.”

“She didn’t have a choice when it comes to her mate, Dermot. I really don’t think she would’ve chosen Parrish if she had. Who would want a Kudlak as their mate?”

Dermot thought about Tamsin. He might not have wanted a Kudlak as his mate, but he had one.

He’d accepted Nico almost as soon as he’d realized it, and he’d expected Dermot to do the same.

As far as Dermot was concerned, there was a good chance that Nico was going to betray them, but Tamsin couldn’t see that, or maybe he could but didn’t want to accept it.

If he did, he’d have to accept the fact that he was stuck with a Kudlak for the rest of his life.

They were mates, and he didn’t have a choice, just like Celeste.

But they did have the choice not to accept the bond.

That was what Dermot didn’t understand. It was bad enough that their mates were Kudlaks.

Why would anyone want to be bonded to them at all?

They didn’t have to be, and the only reason they were was that they wanted to be.

If it had been Dermot, he would’ve run as far as he could, as quickly as possible.

He never would have entertained the possibility of being bonded to a Kudlak.

It would hurt because there was only one mate for everyone out there, but he’d have made that decision because it was the only decision he could make.

Well, apparently not, or at least, that didn’t go for everyone.

“You don’t have to worry,” Clay said as he leaned over the table to gently take Celeste’s hand.

It was obvious that the human scared her less than the Krsniks in the room, which was why he was there instead of his mate.

Rowan was the true official leader of their clan, even though Clay was right by his side.

He was just human, though. He might have experience when it came to all of this, but he’d never experienced losing as many people as Dermot and the others had.

Hopefully for him, he never would. It was something Dermot wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.

Except Parrish. Parrish needed to lose everyone he’d ever loved. There was a problem with that, though. Dermot didn’t think Parrish had ever loved anyone except himself.

“Thank you,” Celeste said with a sniff. “I’ve just been with Parrish for so long that I don’t know where to start.”

“Well, you’re safe here, and we’ve managed to find your family.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Really. Rowan has already contacted them.”

Celeste looked like she was about to cry, and she looked down at the table, where Clay was still squeezing her hand. “I want to see them. But I’m afraid.”

“Of Parrish.”

“We all know he’s not going to stop trying to get to me. He’s out there right now, waiting for the right opportunity to grab me. What’s going to happen if I try to leave the clan?”

“You don’t have to leave. No one expects you to.”

“What about my family? What’s going to happen if they try to come in? The shields protect us, but they don’t protect the people outside the village.”

Most clan members were trying their best to stay within the village because of all of this.

Parrish was still out there, waiting for his chance to grab Celeste and hurt every clan member he could get his hands on.

Unfortunately for them, they did have to leave the shields.

They needed food, and many clan members had jobs outside of the village.

It made them vulnerable, even with Vila magic.

They’d be in this position until they got rid of Parrish, and Dermot wished it would happen quickly.

Unfortunately, Parrish was smart. He knew what would happen to him if he wasn’t careful, which meant he was incredibly careful.

At the same time, it meant they had a little leeway coming and going from the village. As long as they were careful, they should be safe, including Celeste’s family. They’d probably be able to come into the village if they were prepared.

Dermot didn’t like the thought. He didn’t want strangers in the village, even though most clan members were still strangers to him. They were a ragtag clan, welcoming people who didn’t have anywhere else to go, and that included a lot of Vila.

“Rowan has warned your brother about what’s been happening,” Clay explained. “From what he told me, your brother is more than capable of defending himself.”

Celeste nodded. “Bastien is a Krsnik, but even though he knows how to defend himself, he’s not invincible.”

“The clan will be on standby. Once your brother is close enough, we can leave the village and get him if he needs us to. I can’t promise that nothing will happen, but Parrish doesn’t know that your brother is coming, and it’s not like he’s camping right outside the village entrance.

I know telling you not to worry isn’t going to help, but I’m sure we can find a way to make this work. ”

Dermot gritted his teeth. Great, another stranger was coming, and he was related to Celeste.

There was no way this would go as smoothly as Clay clearly thought it would.

Dermot didn’t know what would happen, but he was ready to bet his new house that something would, and he already wasn’t happy about it.

Hamlin patted Dermot’s hand, startling him. He didn’t seem to care.

“See,” he said, his voice still soft enough that the people around them couldn’t hear what he was saying. “You’re going to be rid of her soon. There’s no need to stare at her like you want her to vanish.”

“It won’t be soon enough,” Dermot muttered.

“Maybe not, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I just don’t understand how people can trust her.”

Hamlin watched Celeste for a second before sighing. “It could happen to any of us. Hell, it happened to Tamsin. There’s a chance for all of us that our mate is a Kudlak, and it’s hard not to feel for Celeste. It’s not her fault. Fate put her with Parrish.”

It wasn’t, but it was her fault that she’d accepted the bond with him.

* * * *

“I KNOW, MOM,” BASTIEN said into his phone. He’d be amused if the situation wasn’t what it was, but his parents were freaking out about Celeste, and Bastien wasn’t far behind. He couldn’t believe they’d finally found his sister. He hadn’t thought they ever would after Parrish had taken her away.

Bastien was trying very hard not to think about what had happened to her while she was with Parrish.

The monster was her mate, and there was nothing she could do about that, but there was no way he actually cared about their bond.

No, he’d taken Celeste to use her, to hurt her, and if Bastien ever got his hands on the Kudlak, he would ensure that he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again, especially Celeste.

The problem with that plan was that Parrish was strong.

Bastien had always known that, even when Parrish was doing his best to fool them into thinking he was a good person.

He’d wanted to take Celeste away, and eventually, he had.

There had been nothing Bastien and his family had been able to do to stop him.

Celeste had wanted to be with her mate, and she’d left.