Chapter Three #3
“But it looked like Rose was dragging Celeste around? Like maybe she was forcing her to do something?”
“Yes. It definitely didn’t look like Celeste was happy to go along with whatever was happening.”
“Can you tell me where you saw them?”
“Yeah, sure.” The hunter pointed at a spot behind them. “They were right there on the edge of the shield, behind the houses. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen the two of them walk around, so I didn’t think much of it. I’m sorry.”
Bastien shook his head. “It’s fine. You didn’t know, and I don’t blame you for not doing anything.”
He turned to look at Dermot, and from the way his gaze blazed, Dermot was pretty sure that Bastien did blame him for this.
Maybe he wasn’t wrong. Dermot didn’t want to think that Rose was dangerous, especially not after he’d trusted her and told Rowan and Clay that they could, too.
“We don’t know what’s going on,” he told Bastien.
“Rose might not have anything to do with Celeste being gone.”
“How likely is that, considering what you just heard?”
“I don’t know what’s probable. Maybe your sister dragged Rose into something.”
Bastien took a step forward, then stopped. He shook his head. “Until you can admit that you might have been wrong, I don’t think we should talk again. This isn’t going to end well if we do.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“I’m not. I have to find my sister, and I hope that by the time I do, you’ll be able to come to terms with the fact that you might have been wrong about Rose and about Celeste.
If you can’t, well...maybe I’ll do what you think my sister should’ve done with her mate. Maybe I’ll refuse to bond with you.”
He turned and quickly walked away. Dermot didn’t have to ask to know where he was going.
He needed to inform Rowan and Clay of what was happening and what the hunter had seen.
Dermot should go with him, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Bastien would do if he tried.
Would he punch him? Dermot felt like he deserved it.
He didn’t know what to think of any of this.
Part of him still thought that Celeste might have gone back to Parrish of her own free will, but another part—the one he’d been doing his best to ignore because he didn’t like what it was telling him—thought that maybe he’d been wrong.
Could he really blame Celeste for wanting to be with her fated mate?
Once she’d realized the kind of man Parrish was, it had been too late for her.
Parrish was smart, and he’d known how to charm her and make her believe he was a good person before they bonded.
Once they’d bonded, though, he’d chained her to him and started using her.
She wouldn’t have had any way to escape then.
She would still be there with him if it weren’t for the clan.
There was a chance that a person he’d trusted had betrayed the clan and could bring harm to it.
If Rose really was working with Parrish the way Bastien seemed to think, she could have done much worse than focus on Celeste.
If she really was working with Parrish, she had no doubt taken Celeste back to her mate.
Celeste would end up getting hurt, and through her, Bastien.
Dermot’s mouth tasted bitter. Would things have been different if he hadn’t trusted Rose the way he had?
He was pretty sure that Rowan and Clay would have invited her into the village anyway, but Dermot could have kept an eye on her.
He could have ensured that she truly wasn’t dangerous.
Instead, he’d assumed that just because she was a Vila and there was no proof she’d ever worked with or been close to a Kudlak, she was safe.
He might have been wrong. He might have put Celeste in danger. He might have caused Bastien to hate him.
“That’s rough, man. Sorry,” the hunter said.
Dermot squinted at him. “Boyle, right?”
The man wrinkled his nose. “Boyd.”
Right. Dermot knew him from around the village.
Boyd was bonded to a Krsnik, which meant that Dermot wasn’t close with him.
He didn’t trust Krsniks. He lived with them because he didn’t have a choice and because it was safer, but after what had happened to his clan, he wasn’t sure he could ever trust any of them again.
Except that if he couldn’t trust his new clan, the Krsniks who belonged to it, or other Vila like Rose, who did that leave?
But even if he couldn’t trust Boyd, he still had to live with the man. They were fellow clan members, and Boyd had been helpful, although it would have been better if he’d come forward with this information sooner.
“Thanks for telling us what you saw,” Dermot said stiffly. “And yes, the situation is rough.”
Boyd shook his head. “I meant with your mate. You really put your foot in your mouth there. Were you trying to make him angry?”
“I wasn’t trying to do anything.” Except for hiding that he and Bastien were mates, but Boyd didn’t need to know that.
Dermot might not know anything about him, but he was pretty sure that Boyd was happy being bonded to his Krsnik mate.
What did he know of the kind of hardship Dermot had gone through?
Except that wasn’t entirely true. Boyd had been a hunter. He’d faced down countless Kudlak. Humans didn’t usually become hunters because they wanted to. They became hunters because Kudlak had hurt them and their families. It was similar to what Dermot had gone through.
“Well, you’re going to have to apologize,” Boyd said. “You basically told him that his sister is where she’s supposed to be when we know she’s with a monster. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, and I hope for you that he’s not your worst enemy.”
Shit. Dermot had done that, hadn’t he? Did it really matter whether or not Celeste had left because she wanted to?
No one deserved the life Parrish had forced her to live since they’d bonded.
Beyond that, Bastien knew her better than Dermot.
Maybe he was right when he said that Celeste would never have gone back to Parrish if she hadn’t been forced to.
Who would have? Even with the bond, it would have been possible for her to resist.
Dermot was in trouble. “I’m not sure how to do that.”
“I think the best way to start would be to find his sister.”
* * * *
BASTIEN DIDN’T CARE how Dermot felt, or if he was offended or freaking out.
Maybe he would once this mess was over, but for now, he needed to talk to the clan leaders.
They were clan leaders, and as such, they had the authority to get people to look for Celeste.
They could investigate what had happened and, hopefully, find out where Celeste was and get her back. If they couldn’t, well.
It wouldn’t be the first time Bastien had faced Kudlak on his own.
He didn’t usually do it. Krsniks were strong, and they worked well together.
It was always safer for Krsniks to have help when they faced Kudlaks, but this was Celeste.
If no one was willing to help Bastien, he’d take things into his own hands.
He couldn’t leave her with Parrish, not after finding out everything that Parrish had done to her.
The first night he’d arrived at the village, when Celeste had given him details of what she’d had to endure over the past few years, he’d cried.
He and his family had known that wherever Celeste was, she probably wasn’t having a good time, but they’d hoped that Parrish would still be considerate.
They were mates, and in their universe, mates loved each other.
If they didn’t, they at least cared for one another and took care of each other.
That wasn’t what Parrish had done, though.
In fact, he’d done the opposite. He’d used Celeste and hurt her.
Bastien was sure that if the clan hadn’t stepped in, Parrish would have eventually drained Celeste of all her magic.
He wouldn’t have cared. He wouldn’t get another mate, but knowing him, he probably didn’t think he needed one.
The man was arrogant enough to believe that he was beyond needing anyone.
If he’d gotten Rose to bring Celeste back to him, it was only because he wanted to use her again, not because he missed her.
He’d probably never loved her, whatever he’d told her and her family.
Bastien climbed the porch steps two at a time and stormed into the house.
Just in case, he went upstairs first, knocking on Celeste’s door and opening it when he didn’t get an answer.
Her bedroom was empty, as was his. Celeste wasn’t waiting for him sitting on his bed.
She wasn’t waiting for him at all. She was somewhere out there, probably fighting for her life again, and Bastien had let that happen.
He’d let Parrish take his sister again, and if anything happened to her, it would be on his shoulders.
“What’s going on?” Clay asked, appearing at the open door.
Bastien turned toward him. Whatever Clay saw in his expression, his smile vanished, and he stood up straighter.
“I think Parrish has Celeste,” Bastien told him.
Clay was silent for only a second. “Why do you think that?”
“We had plans for lunch, but she never came, and she’s not in her room.
I looked around the village, and I can’t find her anywhere.
I was just talking to Dermot and another clan member, and the man said that he saw Celeste and Rose together.
They were by the shield, and it looked like Rose was dragging Celeste. Celeste wasn’t happy.”
“It might not mean anything,” Clay said.