Chapter Three
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NIC WASN’T SURPRISED when Rowan finally came to visit him, or that he wasn’t alone. With him came a man that Nic didn’t have to recognize to know. Parrish had mentioned several times that Rowan had found his mate. In fact, he’d been giddy about killing the man in front of Rowan.
“I’m Clay,” the man said. He smiled at Nic as he offered him his hand. Nic stared, wondering if Clay was serious. He couldn’t actually want Nic to shake his hand, could he?
But Clay waited until Nic cautiously took his hand and gave it a shake. After he had, Clay grinned and leaned against the wall, gesturing at Rowan. Rowan rolled his eyes, and Nic wondered what the fuck was happening.
They made a stunning couple. Rowan was quiet, with dark hair and violet eyes. Clay, on the other hand, never seemed to stop fidgeting. His hazel eyes were bright, and the freckles on his nose made him look innocent. If he was Rowan’s mate, there was no way that he was. Nic was sure of that.
Tamsin was there, too. He’d given Nic an encouraging smile as soon as he walked in, but the fourth man, who’d been next to him, had elbowed him in the ribs, wiping the smile off his lips.
Tamsin had glared at him, and Nic wished he could ask who the guy was and why he was bothering Tamsin.
He didn’t feel he had the right to, though.
He might be Tamsin’s mate, but Tamsin could handle himself, especially when it came to his people.
“You already know my mate, Rowan,” Clay continued. “And of course, you know Tamsin. The sour puss here is Dermot. Please ignore him.”
Nic blinked. Clay didn’t sound like he was talking to an enemy. He didn’t sound like he was talking to a prisoner, either. It was as if he found all of this perfectly normal when it was anything but.
“I’m not a sour puss,” Dermot argued. “You have to see that this is worrying.”
“What’s worrying is that Parrish is coming for us. I don’t know about you, but I want to defeat him, and I’m willing to do anything in my power to ensure that happens.”
“Including using me,” Nic murmured.
For some reason, Clay beamed at him. “Including using you,” he confirmed. “Which means we have an offer.”
“I’m listening.” Nic was grateful. Anyone else would have threatened him to make his life worse so he’d do what they wanted. Hell, he probably would have even if they’d asked nicely. He didn’t want these people to think that he was like Parrish.
He didn’t want Tamsin to think that he was like Parrish.
“Tamsin told us about the bond you share,” Rowan said. He might be quieter than Clay, but he was also more intense. Nic was almost afraid to look at him.
He wasn’t who Nic was interested in, anyway. He looked at Tamsin, wondering why he’d done it. “You should have kept our bond a secret,” he murmured.
Tamsin looked unapologetic. “Why should I? You’re my mate.”
That seemed to make Dermot angrier. Nic briefly wondered if the man had feelings for Tamsin, but even if he did, it was none of Nic’s business. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for Tamsin to choose Dermot over him, though. He was a Vila, like Tamsin, and he’d never hurt anyone.
Probably. There was no way for Nic to know that for sure, and he didn’t really care, anyway. The only thing he cared about was that Dermot had never worked with Parrish, while he had. That made it clear who the best man between the two of them was.
“You should have a better mate,” Nic told Tamsin.
“I think that’s the one thing we can all agree on,” Dermot said.
Tamsin glared at him. “That’s enough,” he said. “You’re my friend, but I won’t tolerate you insulting my mate.”
“Your mate is a Kudlak,” Dermot spat out.
“And what am I supposed to do about it? Even if I reject him, and I won’t, he’ll always be my mate.”
“We can find a way to change that, I’m sure of that. We can use our magic.”
Tamsin shook his head. “I said even if, Dermot. I’m not planning on rejecting Nic. He’s my mate, and I won’t ever be ashamed of that.”
Dermot looked like he believed that Tamsin should be ashamed, but he didn’t say it.
Instead, he scowled and turned his attention to a spot on the wall.
It was clear that he was going to ignore Nic, which was perfectly fine with Nic.
He might believe that Tamsin would be better off with someone who wasn’t him, maybe someone like Dermot, but that didn’t mean he wanted more attention than he already had. In fact, he’d be happy with less of it.
“As I was saying,” Rowan said, watching Dermot, too. “Tamsin told us about the bond you share. He also told us what you said about Parrish having a mate.”
Nic swallowed. “I’d tell you more if I could, but Parrish keeps her locked up.
She’s not technically a prisoner, and he says it’s for her own good, but we all know that’s not the case.
I don’t think she’s ever wanted to be there.
” Nic hesitated. “From what I know, Parrish met her a few years after he took me in. I was still a kid, so I didn’t notice anything strange, but I’m pretty sure he forced her to bond with him. ”
“That’s not surprising. We’ll help her if we can, but our priority has to be the clan. Dermot and Tamsin here believe that Parrish is using his mate’s magic against us. Is that something you believe is possible?”
“Anything is possible when it comes to Parrish.”
“Wouldn’t he want to protect her?” Clay asked. “I mean, Rowan and I are mates, and I could never dream of hurting him. I don’t understand why and how Parrish is doing it.”
“I don’t think that Parrish cares about anything and anyone who isn’t him.
” Nic had spent enough time with the Kudlak to be sure of that.
“She’s his mate, but that only matters because he can use their bond.
It’s not going to stop him from forcing her to do his bidding.
He probably feels like she owes it to him since they’re mates. ”
Clay’s easy smile was gone. He looked pissed, which Nic understood.
He was, too. He’d been angry even before he’d met his mate, but now, he truly didn’t understand how Parrish could do this to her.
Nic wanted nothing more than to take care of Tamsin.
He would never dream of hurting him or forcing him to do anything, yet Parrish never seemed to have a problem doing so.
He truly was a monster. He didn’t even care about his mate.
Nic didn’t understand how Parrish had a mate. He didn’t know her, but he couldn’t imagine that anyone deserved someone like Parrish.
“So, we’re ready to offer you a deal,” Rowan said. “We’ll let you go if you help us against Parrish. You’ll be able to walk away, no questions asked. We won’t try to keep you here, and we definitely won’t execute you.”
Nic glanced at Tamsin. Had his mate told Rowan that Nic thought he’d kill him? Or had Rowan guessed since he knew Parrish as well as Nic did?
“You’ll be allowed to stay here, at the village, if that’s what you want,” Rowan continued.
Nic hadn’t expected that. “You want me to stay?”
Dermot made a scoffing sound, and even though it made it clear what Dermot thought of that, Nic ignored him. Dermot wasn’t the person in charge. Rowan was, and he was saying that Nic would be allowed to stay.
“You’re Tamsin’s mate, and Tamsin vouched for you,” Rowan explained.
“There’s also the fact that it would’ve been easy for you to run.
Instead, you warned us about Parrish, and you stuck around to protect the village.
That means something to us. So yes, if you ever want to become part of our clan, you’d be welcome to.
Some people might not be happy about it, but they’ll get used to it, especially if you help us defeat Parrish. ”
“I want to, but I don’t know how. I already told you everything I know.”
Rowan nodded. “I realize that. There’s something else you could do, though. Eventually, we’ll have to face Parrish. Will you fight against us or with us?”
Nic didn’t hesitate. “With you, if I’m able to. I never wanted to work for Parrish. I never wanted anything to do with him. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Good. I’m glad that we have a Vila and Kudlak bond within our clan. Of course, you and Tamsin aren’t bonded the way Parrish is with his mate, but hopefully, it’ll help us understand how their bond works. Something tells me we’re going to need to know.”
“Tamsin and I can bond. That way, you can see what the bond does. You can understand it better.” And if they bonded, Tamsin would never be able to abandon Nic.
It was a purely selfish offer, an offer that Nic didn’t think anyone would agree to, but he had to make it.
It might be the only way to save the village and Tamsin.
* * * *
THAT WAS THE LAST THING Tamsin had expected to hear coming out of Nic’s mouth.
Nic had been pushing him away and telling him that he should keep his distance, and now, he was offering for them to bond?
It didn’t make sense, but Tamsin suspected that he was about to find out why his mate was doing this.
He was curious, and something made him think that Nic wasn’t offering because he thought it would be the best outcome for the two of them.
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one, because Rowan frowned at him, then looked back at Nic, already shaking his head. “We don’t need you and Tamsin to do that.”
“But we could if you need us to. It might help us understand better what’s going on.”
“It might, but I would never dream of asking people to bond just so we can have more information. I know from experience that bonding is a very personal and unique experience. It’s something you should both agree on, not something that should be done as an experiment.”
“But no one here knows how Kudlaks and Vila are once bonded. We don’t know what Parrish is doing to his mate. I don’t even know, and I used to live there. I want to help her because I don’t think she ever wanted to be there, and I don’t know how else to do that.”
“It’s not your job to help her or anyone else,” Rowan said gently.