Forced Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #4)(27)

It would have gone straight through Nox’s chest.

I stare at that iron bar for a second before my bond flares to life and I’m pushing up off of the ground, brushing myself off and raising a hand of my own to the manipulative bitch. She’s ready for me though, as ready as you can be when facing someone who can literally rip your freaking soul out, and furniture starts floating all around us.

She’s trying to get me to focus on Riley and kill him first. Now that she’s been outed and she has no use for him, he’s nothing but cannon fodder in her plans.

Even my bond has some rage feelings about that, and it never really gives two fucks about anyone outside of our Bond Group.

An arm chair comes flying at me but Brutus bats it away like it’s nothing, and I keep my eyes on Giovanna, absolutely confident in his ability to keep me safe. “Bad move. You could’ve been taken in nicely, now you’re going to be dragged back, braindead.”

She laughs at me, stupidly, and when Riley’s eyes flash, I don’t need my bond or Brutus to protect me, side-stepping the couch that gets flung my way. I feel Nox step in closer to my side, his eyes still voided out, but there’s a blankness over his features now that sends a thrill up my spine.

My bond stretches inside of me, spreading through my limbs as it reacts to seeing his.

My transfixion on Nox is broken by the sound of Gryphon firing at Riley, shooting him in the leg and taking him down to the ground with a scream. His eyes flash back to their usual honey color, and the coffee table that was hovering in the air drops back down to the ground.

What the hell was that for?! He’s not the danger here! I snap and Gryphon doesn’t hesitate to reply.

You got distracted and were about to be taken out. Besides, he’s the one throwing shit at my Bonded, and I’m not going to stand around watching that shit happen. We can heal him when we get them back.

I huff but Nox steps forward and takes over the situation again, directing his shadow creatures. Now that Riley is out of commission, thanks to a freaking bullet, his focus is entirely on Giovanna.

Her eyes flash a brighter white as she focuses on him, but his face remains that same blank slate, nothing there but a cold, emotionless being.

It has to be his Bond.

Three of the shadow creatures jump on Giovanna at once, their forms shifting and morphing until she’s cloaked in darkness, writhing and screaming in frustration as she tries to fight them off. It’s no use, she’s trying to struggle against sentient smoke that can change its own density at will.

I feel her Gift skit across my mind, bouncing away uselessly. Even after being bonded, she’s nothing compared to me and my power. There’s something very satisfying about that.

I smirk down at her, not that she can see it underneath all of the dark smoke covering her, but she can hear me well enough as I drawl, “Honestly, I was expecting more out of you. After so long of worming your way into a high profile Bond Group and messing around with them… I was expecting you to give us more trouble than this. Pathetic, really.”

She lets out a strangled scream and then snarls at me, “I might not be able to get into your head, but Silas will. There’s nothing you’ll be able to do to stop him. You or your cursed Bond Group. It’s only a matter of time, monster.”

My blood runs cold in my veins.

I already know she’s right. I’ve spent more than enough time being tortured by Davies to know just how much power he has, but the idea of him getting into Nox’s head? Or any of my Bonds and Bonded?

I’d rather die.





Chapter Eight





Oli



We get transported back to the Sanctuary in two blocks, the guys take Giovanna and Riley back first before coming back for Gryphon, Nox, and me. We have to go back for the rest of our gear and it’s while we were hiking back through the trees that I felt it.

Eyes on us.

Neither Gryphon or Nox seem to notice it, both of them staying focused as we make our way back to the camping spot, and my bond doesn’t take over completely, but it takes notice.

It stills in my chest and just… waits. For what, I have no freaking clue, but it waits and watches and is poised, ready to take over if anything happens.

Except it doesn’t.

We get the extra packs right before the Transporter arrives again to take us back. I’m about ready to climb out of my skin with nerves, so freaking ready to be out of the woods. The moment our feet hit the ground, Gryphon wraps a hand around one side of my neck to stop me from puking, but when his Gift finishes up and he moves away from me, probably to find North and debrief with him about the mission, the feeling of unease is still lingering inside me. It’s definitely not the motion sickness. Nope, it’s something else entirely.

Nox stares at me.

Directly at me, no sneering or snarling insults at me for once, and it also makes me want to climb out of my skin. He does everything he can to avoid looking at me or being near me, so to have him just standing there and taking me in is just… so deeply unsettling.

I swallow roughly and just stare back at him like an idiot until his eyes narrow. He steps forward, towards me, and then glances back over my shoulder as though he’s going to see anything but TacTeam personnel buzzing around. “What is it? What’s happened?”

I think it’s the carefully considering tone he’s using, but I don’t just brush it off for once. I could, and I probably should, but I feel as though he’s actually seeing me for the first time as his eyes still roam over my face.