“No,” Meg said and sort of wished Dante had been the one she was tied to. She was bouncing all over the place emotionally, but she couldn’t help it. At least he had a sense of humor, and apparently, his plane had things she was used to, like running water and indoor toilets.
“Hey.” Dante brushed a tear off her cheek. “None of that. It’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” It would be perfectly fine once she got the hell out of here. Someone would be willing to help her. She didn’t buy that no-going-back crap. If she got here, she could get back.
Dante’s perceptive eyes narrowed. “Don’t run. It won’t go well for you. There are things in that forest you can’t imagine. Promise me you won’t run until you meet Cian. Please, just give him a chance to be less of an asshole than Beck has been this afternoon.”
“If he’s anything like his brother, there’s no point,” Meg said bitterly.
“But he isn’t, sweetheart. That is the point. Cian is the intellectual half. He is also the more romantic half,” Dante mused. “It’s odd how they split. Beck is all the hard and pragmatic bits. He’s all about responsibility and honor, while Cian is playful and instinctive. Sometimes I think Beck got the short end of the stick. Of course, Beck is not the one who lies down from time to time and decides to fade because the world is too much for him. It’s all very dramatic, trust me.”
Meg huffed and began to pace. “You are seriously telling me that this Cian person isn’t really Beck’s brother, but the other half of him.”
Dante looked thrilled. “Her little human brain works! Yes, that is what I’m telling you. Two bodies, one soul.” Dante gently touched a finger to her forehead. “You bridge the two right here. They balance through you. You complete them.”
“And if I don’t want to complete them?”
The vampire smiled sympathetically. “Just meet Cian. You can’t begin to understand Beckett until you meet all of him. And he wasn’t disappointed in you, sweetheart. He was upset with himself.”
“Sure he was.” She’d heard that one before. It’s not you, Meg. It’s me.
“He was,” Dante said seriously. “He has odd ideas about how a bondmate should be treated. On his plane, a bondmate, especially one of royal blood, expects to be treated like a princess. I think they all have sticks up their asses, if you ask me. It took my mom years to relax and learn to take my father in stride. Right now, Beck sees you as a perfect little possession, and he wants to take good care of you. Watch him. You’ll see. He won’t let you do anything. He’ll wait on you hand and foot.”
Meg sighed. She had worked since the day she turned fifteen. No one had ever accused her of slacking off. Of course, she hadn’t had much of a choice. “I’m not asking him to do that. I’m not a princess.”
“I know that. You know that. Teach him that. You’ll all be happier if you’re a fully functioning member of the team rather than a porcelain doll they take down and very gently make love to, but only after asking politely.” Dante shuddered as though the very thought made him ill. “You are the best thing that could have happened to him. Work on Cian first. He’s the openly passionate one. He’s the one who never wanted that polite bargain where he loved you from afar because he was worried his passion would be too much for you.”
“Beck doesn’t love me,” Meg said. “He just met me.”
“He won’t be able to help himself, and neither will you.” The vampire picked up a small satchel Meg had seen Cara fill. He settled it over her shoulder, giving her a sharp slap on the back. It moved her forward a little. “Be careful out there, and remember what I told you.”
“And just what did you tell my mate, vampire?” Beck’s eyes were a glacial gray as he stood in the doorway.
Meg froze, but Dante merely rolled his eyes. “It’s always Dante, or my cos, when he wants something. And when he’s pissed off he calls me vampire. He says it like it’s a bad thing. I’ll have you know that vampires are the most advanced of all the races. Come to my plane sometime, sweetheart, and I’ll show you. We’re launching a mission to test a deep space shuttle. Vamps in space. It’s going to be awesome.” Dante jauntily slapped his cousin on the back. “See you back at the village. I’ll give Cian your greeting, but I’ll keep my mouth shut about her. It’s better if she’s a surprise.”
The vampire left, and Meg was alone with Beck. He’d had a shower, or whatever they took here, and now he was clean and so gorgeous it hurt to look at him. His linen shirt was open at the throat. It showed off his rock hard chest to spectacular advantage. How had she even thought for a second he could want her? She wasn’t even in his league.
“Are you ready?” The question was quiet, but as with everything the man said, there was an order in there. He stood looking at her, and Meg heated up, even after everything he’d done.
Meg knew that if he had shown her an ounce of kindness in the arena, she would have been an eager puppy following him without question. She would have written off her previous existence and done everything he asked of her. She was truly pathetic. He had done her a favor. “Does it matter if I am or not?”
“No,” Beck admitted. “We need to leave now if we’re going to make it to the lake before midnight. I want to spend the night there.” He held the flap to the tent open and gestured her out.
Meg stepped out and quickly took a step back. “What the hell is that?”
It was monstrous. It looked like a horse, but someone had put it on steroids and dyed it a dark blue. It was so dark that one could mistake it for black, but when the late afternoon sun hit the thing’s coat, there was an unmistakable midnight blue shining there.
Beck ran a strong hand along the beast’s back. It was obvious he had a fondness for the enormous animal. Even Beck, as big as he was, would have to haul himself into the saddle. “This is Sweeney. He’s a good boy, aren’t you? He won’t hurt you, love.”
Meg forced herself not to soften. He sounded like he had before the events of the arena. She remembered how gentle he had been with her when he’d rubbed her to orgasm. She’d liked that almost as much as what happened later.
Meg shook her head. “I’ll walk, thank you.”
She turned on her heels and started down the road. There was no way she was getting on the back of that thing. She might have been born in Texas, but she’d never really left the city. She’d never been on a horse, much less an elephant, and that’s what that thing reminded her of. Meg ignored the odd looks she received as she walked down the lane.
In the distance, she could see the forest ahead. The trees were unbearably thick. Only the road seemed to be clear, as though the forest around it was a living thing, waiting to pounce on anyone who walked into it. Meg swallowed once, and then twice, thinking that it didn’t seem like a good idea to go into that forest. She was just about to turn back into town to protest when she felt a strong hand lifting her into the air by the back of her shirt.
“Hey!” Meg screamed in shock as she found herself across Beck’s lap. Without thinking about it, she threw her arms around his chest and clung to him, afraid to fall off the beast. It was an awfully long way down, and there wasn’t a handy ER around to set whatever would break.
Sweeney huffed and pranced, getting used to the new weight on his back. After a few seconds, Beck made a clicking sound. The horse took off.
“Hold on tight, love,” was all he said as he kicked the horse into high gear.
Meg did as he asked, holding on with all her might. The forest loomed large, getting closer every second. Like it or not, she was going into the woods.
Chapter Six