Chapter Five
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IT HAD BEEN A FEW DAYS, and Bastien had been on edge the entire time.
He’d barely slept until last night, when Dermot had forced him to go to bed.
He’d spent the night with him, although nothing had happened between them.
He’d done it because he’d been able to tell that his presence calmed Bastien in a way that Bastien probably didn’t want to admit.
It was the bond between them. It was pushing them together, and right now, Bastien needed Dermot.
It was why Dermot hadn’t gone home. They could talk about it later, once they came back from this mission, hopefully with Celeste.
It would make for an awkward conversation, but it wouldn’t be the first awkward one they’d had.
It probably wouldn’t be as awkward as Dermot climbing onto Bastien’s bed last night and telling him to go to sleep.
He’d been surprised when Bastien had agreed, but maybe he shouldn’t have been. His mate was exhausted. He still was, even though he’d slept through the night. Dermot suspected that wouldn’t change until Celeste was back with them, which meant they had to get her back today.
“I don’t want anyone to do anything stupid,” Rowan said as he poured himself his first coffee of the morning.
He was staring at Bastien. Clearly, he knew that Dermot’s mate would be a problem, and he wasn’t wrong.
No one would blame Bastien for being the problem in this situation, but what he did could put Celeste in danger, which wasn’t something anyone wanted.
Bastien might react on instinct, and he’d regret it later, but Dermot’s job was to ensure that didn’t happen.
He was going to keep an eye on his mate through the entire mission, and if Bastien even hinted at doing something like taking on Parrish on his own or telling them to fuck off, Dermot would step in.
Bastien wouldn’t like it, but Dermot was pretty sure that at the end of the day, he wouldn’t care, not once Celeste was back with him.
Bastien didn’t roll his eyes, but from the way he was looking at Rowan, Dermot was pretty sure it was a close thing. “I’m not an idiot,” he said.
“No one said you were. This is your sister we’re talking about, though.
Anyone would be on edge, and no one would blame you for doing something stupid, except that you might blame yourself if something happens to Celeste because of it.
You know Parrish. You know how smart he is and that he knows you care about your sister.
He’s going to use that against you if he can. ”
Bastien rubbed his face with both hands before nodding curtly.
“I won’t do anything stupid,” he promised.
“I’ll follow orders and stay as far away from Parrish as you need me to.
As much as I want him dead, I want my sister back more, and if that means leaving Parrish to you or someone else, I can live with that.
I won’t be happy about it, but I can deal with it.
” He looked straight at Rowan. “Besides, as angry as I am at Parrish and as delighted as I would be to tear him apart with my bare hands, you have more right to do that than I do.”
Rowan shook his head. “We’re not talking about rights here.
A lot of people have been hurt by Parrish.
That includes you, me, and others. We all want revenge, and there’s not one of us who deserves it more than the other.
The reason I want to kill Parrish is that I don’t want to have to deal with him ever again.
I want to live a peaceful life, and he’s stopping me from doing that.
I’ve had enough of having to hide in the village because of him.
Hopefully, today is the day we finally end this.
You focus on your sister. I’ll focus on Parrish. ”
Dermot held his breath. He knew that Bastien wanted Parrish to be hurt as much as Parrish had hurt Celeste.
Hell, even Dermot wanted it. To be honest, he just wanted Parrish dead, and he didn’t much care how or how painful it was.
He just hated that Parrish’s presence around the village was hanging over everyone’s heads and stopping them from fully living their lives.
This wasn’t as personal to him as it was to Rowan and Bastien, but he would support the two of them with whatever they wanted to do with Parrish.
He leaned closer to his mate. Bastien nodded.
“Look, as much as I want Parrish to pay, my main focus here is my sister. As long as she’s back with me, I don’t really care what happens to Parrish.
I need him to die because it’s the only way Celeste will be safe, but I don’t care how it happens or who kills him.
You’re welcome to cut his head off or tear him to pieces if you want.
Just show me the head when you’re done so I can be a hundred percent sure he’s gone. ”
Rowan nodded. For a moment, the two of them looked at each other.
Dermot felt like he was intruding. He had history with Kudlak—every Vila and Krsnik did—but Bastien and Rowan shared personal history with Parrish.
Bastien was trusting Rowan to make sure that Parrish could never hurt Celeste again.
It was a lot to put in Rowan’s hands, but if there was one person who could do that, it was him.
Rowan turned back to Clay, who had his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face.
He’d been like that since everyone had arrived at their home, and Dermot had understood once he’d been told that Clay would be staying behind.
If something happened, the clan would need him.
He might be human, but he was a clan leader as much as Rowan was.
He wasn’t happy about it, though. He wanted to go with Rowan, and normally, he would, but this time, it would be too dangerous.
If Parrish won despite everything, the clan would need Clay to step in, which meant he had to stay behind.
Dermot understood where he was coming from.
He and Bastien weren’t even together yet, but he was glad he was going along.
He wasn’t sure how he would’ve managed to let Bastien go without him.
It didn’t look like Clay was able to do it either, but he didn’t have a choice.
Rowan didn’t, either. When they’d agreed to become clan leaders, they’d agreed to put the clan before themselves and what they wanted.
It was what made them such good clan leaders.
Leaving Rowan to deal with Clay, Dermot turned to Bastien. “You’re going to be careful.”
Bastien arched a brow. “Is that an order?”
“It is. We still need to talk, and we won’t be able to do that if you get hurt.”
“If you want to talk, we can do that before we leave.”
“No. We’ll talk when we come back. Even if we don’t talk, though, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
The corners of Bastien’s lips curled into a smile. “Careful. You make it sound like you care about me and what happens to me.”
“I do.” Dermot didn’t even have to think about it.
Of course he cared what happened to Bastien.
Bastien wasn’t only his mate. He was a caring brother.
He was stubborn and passionate and ready to sacrifice anything for his family.
He had people who loved him and who would be devastated if anything happened to him.
Beyond that, there was the bond between them to consider, too.
Dermot was still terrified, especially when he thought about what Parrish had done, but Bastien wasn’t Parrish.
They weren’t even the same species. Dermot wasn’t sure he could trust Bastien yet, but the bond was pushing them together, and he wanted to trust him.
Bastien’s expression softened, and he reached out to trail his fingertips along Dermot’s cheekbone. It was just a light touch, but it made Dermot feel like his body was on fire.
“Don’t worry too much about me,” Bastien said. “I’m not going anywhere. I have plans.”
Dermot swallowed. “Plans?”
“For you. For my sister. For my life here.”
“You don’t have a life here.” Dermot was an idiot. He could hear what he was saying, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.
Bastien grinned, exposing his fangs. “Don’t I?”
* * * *
BASTIEN WASN’T SURE what was going on in Dermot’s mind, and he was incredibly curious, but now wasn’t the time to push for answers.
He liked flustering Dermot, though, and he’d noticed over the past few days that it happened every time he smiled.
It wasn’t just a smile, though. No, it was when he smiled and showed his fangs, when he smiled wide and happy.
Bastien had many things to be unhappy about at the moment, but he also had some things to be happy about.
His family was safe, except for his sister.
He wouldn’t have to face Parrish on his own, and since he’d arrived at the village, he’d managed to make friends and get close to people, including his mate.
Dermot might have fought that tooth and nail, but that was over.
After what happened with Celeste, Dermot seemed to be on board with the bond between him and Bastien.
They hadn’t talked about it yet, but they would.
Bastien was almost afraid to find out what would happen when they did. Either way, he was glad they didn’t have to deal with this now. It was easier for him to focus on getting Celeste back and dealing with Parrish.
“Is everyone ready?” Rowan asked, looking around his kitchen.
It was full to bursting today. A few clan members were here, mostly because while Rowan and the others would be gone, they’d be in charge.
That included Clay, who would lead the clan until Rowan was back, but also Tamsin, Dermot’s friend.
Dermot wasn’t solely in charge of the magic shields that protected the village, but he was a massive part of them, and Tamsin would ensure that they weren’t weakened in case something happened to Dermot.