Flawless Evans, Gabrielle (ebook smartphone .txt) 📖

What if it was all just a clever ruse designed to force the whereabouts of the Book of the Banished from him? If Lynk allowed 58 Gabrielle

Evans

it, they would have the information they wanted. If he refused, he looked guilty. If he agreed then blocked Zasha out of his mind, it looked as though he was the vampire’s true mate.

It was a clever ploy, but Lynk was on to them now. Why else would Leader Tuesday stick his nose into such a trivial personal matter? And why the hell were Varik and Demos just standing there, not saying a damn word in his defense?

“Wait,” Varik said, stepping forward with both hands raised.

Though he’d wanted this, Lynk still had to resist the urge to put a gag spell on him in fear that he’d say something to make the situation even worse. “What about Kieran? Doesn’t he get the chance to prove that Lynk is his mate as well?”

“Yes,” Tuesday answered tightly. “It is only fair, I suppose.” Okay, great, something was finally going their way. “How do we prove it?” he whispered up to his mate.

Kieran’s entire body was as rigid as stone, and he’d begun to growl like a rabid dog. “No.”

“If Kieran fails his test, then Zasha will have a chance to prove himself as Lynk’s true mate.” Well, at least Demos finally had something helpful to say.

“No!” Kieran spat. “We are leaving. If you come anywhere near him, I will shred each and every one of you with my bare hands and laugh while I do it.”

“Zasha has staked a claim to Lynk.” Tuesday looked much too pleased for Lynk’s liking. “Until it is proven that you are not coercing Mr. Braddock into denying his bond with Zasha, he will remain here.” He looked around their loosely formed circle. “You all will remain here.”

“You can’t keep us here!” Ridley shouted.

Tuesday chuckled darkly and shook his head. “My boy, I can do anything I want. Axton, Gideon, please show our guests to their rooms.”

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“Fuck this.” Kieran lifted Lynk into his arms and swung around toward the front doors, only to find them barricaded by a dozen Enforcers.

Knowing there would be serious consequences, but not seeing any other way out of their predicament, Lynk concentrated all of his power, sending a blast of magic through the room to bind the Snake River vampires in place.

“Hurry.” Varik ushered them through the doors and out to his SUV. “Shit, shit, shit!”

“We are so completely screwed,” Demos added as he slid into the passenger seat.

“Fuck that tool,” Ridley called from the very back of the vehicle.

Not exactly eloquent, nor was it in any way helpful, so Lynk ignored him.

“What are we going to do now?”

“We’re going straight to Casper, and you’re going to tell Torren everything that happened,” Varik said as he stomped on the accelerator.

“Why me?” Lynk demanded.

Demos glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. “Because he won’t kill you.”

60 Gabrielle

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Chapter Seven

“You did what?” Torren bellowed.

Kieran—dressed in an extra pair of clothes from his backpack—

pushed Lynk behind him and faced the elder with a look of contempt.

“What the hell did you want him to do?” It didn’t matter if Torren was Lynk’s brother. No one talked to his mate like that.

“Can’t we bring charges against him for trying to force Lynk into a mating?” Ridley asked.

Torren pushed his hair back from his forehead and groaned. “I don’t know. We’ll have to talk to Elder Cortez. I don’t know all the rules of vampire society. Sloan would be able to tell us more.”

“Thane is there,” Lynk said quietly, trying to push around Kieran and huffing when Kieran refused to let him. “The connection is weak, but it’s there. I’d guess he’s being sedated.”

“Am I the only one that found Zasha’s display of possession a little too convincing?” Demos shrugged when Kieran growled at him.

“It didn’t look like a setup. It felt real.”

“Well, his teeth in my neck certainly felt real.” Kieran wrapped his arm around Lynk’s shoulders and pulled him closer to his side. Just thinking about the bloodsucker biting his mate was enough to make him shake in rage. There was also a small part of him that felt guilty. He’d promised to keep Lynk safe, swore that no one would touch him. Within five minutes of stepping foot inside that house, he’d broken his promise.

It had all happened so fast, though. One minute they were playing nice and making introductions, and the next, Zasha had Lynk pressed up against him and was making a snack out of his jugular. Everything Flawless 61

after that was a bit of a blur, but Kieran still felt the urge to snap the fucker in half and twist him into a pretzel.

“It’s possible that he truly thought Lynk was his mate,” Torren said after a long minute of silence. He slid into one of the kitchen chairs and motioned for everyone else to do the same. Apparently this was going to be a long discussion.

“But, he’s not,” Lynk said as Kieran settled the man into his lap.

He was more than a little pleased when his mate didn’t argue with him. “Why would he think that?”

Torren pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, though he looked like he wanted to slam his forehead against the kitchen table. “He could be Thane’s mate. As your twin, your energies are very similar. The connection between the two of you was still open when this vampire came close to you. It’s possible that he’s feeling Thane through you.”

“Oh, fuck me running,” Raith groaned. “So, what do we do now?

Can’t we just go in there and take Thane?”

“We don’t know where he’s being held,” Torren argued.

“Lynk can find him.”

“They’ll never let us take him without a fight.”

“You’re a goddamn elder!” Raith exploded. “Why are you backing down from this?”

“Snake River is one of the biggest