Page 65 of Burning Embers
Emery levels a glare on Ashton. “You can’t order us not to see our mate.”
For once, Emery’s in complete agreement with his twin. Hell, they’re even mirroring each other, both standing on either side of Ashton with fury etched in every line of their scowls and their arms folded over their chests.
“I wasn’t going to.” Ashton begins to tap his fingers against the mark on his wrist, as he always does when he’s attempting to compute an answer to a complex equation. “You know what they say—keep your friends close, but your enemies?—”
“She’s not our enemy,” Ethan snaps, vitriol heavy in his voice. Red rises up his neck and splashes onto his cheeks. “She’s our Heart.”
“She’s human,” Ashton points out, his eyes glittering with cunning. “There’s never been a case of a human being a Heart.”
“What the fuck are you suggesting, Ash?” Emery sounds as if he’s seconds away from completely losing his shit.
And I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not that far behind him.
Fuck.
I don’t even know the girl, yet she’s already twisting me up inside. My heart stirs at just the thought of her, but myinexplicable anger is far from appeased. It tightens my chest and speeds my heart rate, even as butterflies simultaneously attack my stomach.
Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.
“We keep an eye on her. Befriend her.” Ashton cants his head to the side, his eyes glazed and unfocused as he thinks things through. Two lines knit between his eyebrows. “But we don’t tell her about wolves or packs or mates. And we don’t pursue anything romantic with her—not while we’re keeping these secrets.”
“What the fuck?!” Emery roars. Rages colors his cheeks a dusky red. He curls his hands into fists. “She’s our mate?—”
“She’s an unknown factor,” Ashton counters calmly.
I know he’s not trying to be a dick—this is just the way his brain operates—but even I can admit he sounds a little too…callous. Cruel. It causes my rage to move in riotous swirls deep within my chest.
He needs to shut the fuck up before I punch him unconscious.
My wolf howls in agreement, the noise muted and subdued, barely audible.
“So you want us to resist the mating bond? Deny it?” Ethan stares at our alpha in dawning horror, all color draining from his cheeks, turning them ashen.
“Not deny it.” Ashton shakes his head quickly. “Just ignore it until we can figure things out.”
“Mating bonds can’t be faked, if that’s what you’re insinuating.” Emery still sounds as if he wants to punch Ashton in the face. “You know that. Izzy’s ours?—”
“And she’s also a human during a time of war,” Ashton snaps back. “Are you really going to risk her life just so you can get your cock wet?”
“You motherfucker—” Emery lunges for Ashton, but I’m moving between them in seconds, shoving at Emery’s chest to force him back a few steps.
“We’re not getting anywhere by fighting amongst ourselves,” I growl, already sick of this conversation. Sick of everything, really.
All I want to do is go home, hide away in my room, and forget this fucked-up day ever happened.
ForgetIzzyever happened.
Fuck, my head’s pounding like an invasion of tiny drummers has taken up residence there. And the pain of knowing I can never be with my mate… It’s so unbearable I half wonder if someone placed spikes against my soul.
“Ashton’s right,” I continue irritably. “Even if Izzy did know about wolves and the damn bond, you guys would still befriend her first, right? Before pursuing anything? Be the girl’s damn friend, and we’ll figure out everything from there.”
For a long moment, all three of my friends gape at me. Ashton’s mask cracks just a smidgen, and the twins appear stunned. I think this is the longest they’ve heard me speak in…how many months? Twelve? More? Fuck if I know anymore. Time’s a strange, stagnant thing when you don’t give a shit about what happens to you.
Something I said seems to shake Ethan out of his stupor.
He blinks at me, his green eyes wide, and says, “Why does it sound like you’re not including yourself in this plan?”
“Because I’m not,” I grunt with a scowl.