Flawless Evans, Gabrielle (ebook smartphone .txt) 📖

with my body. It has abandoned me.” He sounded so sad, almost ashamed of the things that had been done to him.

Looking his brother over with a critical eye, Lynk realized that Thane appeared pale, and his body mass was greatly reduced from the man he remembered. Still, he seemed larger than life to Lynk, who had always looked up to his twin, both literally and figuratively.

A fierce protectiveness filled him, reversing the positions they’d fallen into as children. The bigger and stronger twin, Thane, had accepted the role of Lynk’s protector and never complained about the task, even taking Lynk’s side against their other siblings. Now, however, it was Lynk who would be Thane’s champion, a job he took very seriously.

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“I’m going to get you out of that well. Be strong for just a little while longer, okay?”

Thane pressed his forefinger right between Lynk’s eyes and asserted pressure. “What is going on inside here? What trouble have you gotten yourself into?”

Lynk frowned. “Who said I’m in trouble?”

“You are a horrible liar. I think it’s probably a Braddock trait.

Either way, I know something is going on, so you might as well spill it.”

“There is a vampire named Zasha who thinks I’m his mate.”

“But you’re not.”

“Correct. I have a mate. A big, possessive werewolf mate who is going to end up eating this vampire for desert if we don’t get this sorted soon.” If Zasha came anywhere near him, Lynk had little doubt that Kieran would react quite violently.

Thane whistled low. “A werewolf, you say? Well done, my brother.” He winked roguishly and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why does this vampire think you belong to him?”

“I have a theory.” Lynk bit his lip and looked away, unsure of how much to reveal. If Thane knew he had a mate out there waiting for him, his Infinity of all people, maybe it would give him more reason to fight for his life and freedom. Or it could completely backfire and blow up in Lynk’s face.

“Just tell.” Thane huffed in obvious exasperation. “I’m going to get it out of you eventually, so just save us both the time and trouble.”

“I think Zasha may be your mate,” Lynk blurted, watching Thane intently for his reaction. “When we were in Snake River a few days ago, I was searching for you through our bond. I was open to your energy. I think maybe Zasha is confused.”

“A vampire mate,” Thane mused with a crooked smile. “Is he here?”

Well, that wasn’t the reaction Lynk had been expecting, but he supposed it was better than Thane getting pissed because he was Flawless 115

being kept from his fated mate—a mate he could have been missing for hundreds of years now. “He’s supposed to be here, but I really don’t know where anyone is. They’ve all kind of scattered.” Lynk flapped his hand around in front of him, indicating the party in full swing around them.

“What about this mate of yours? Can you get a lock on him?” Lynk beamed. “Oh, yeah. Hold please.” He closed his eyes and pushed his thoughts toward his lover, searching him out in the throng of people.

“Hey, sugar. Did you find Thane?”

“Of course. Do you know where Zasha is?”

“Nope, but our time is about up. Be ready to leave in three minutes or so.”

“I have to go,” Lynk said aloud to his brother. He embraced Thane, squeezing him hard before jumping to his feet. “We’re coming for you. Don’t give up yet.”

Thane smiled, slow and easy as though he didn’t have a care in the world. “I’ll wait right where I am. Oh, and try to keep your werewolf from eating my mate before I have a chance to meet him.”

“You are such an idiot.” Still, Lynk couldn’t help but laugh at his brother. “I’ll do my best. Do you really think I’m right and Zasha is your mate?”

“I’ve rarely known you to be wrong about anything, so yes. I think Zasha is my mate.” Thane tilted his head to the side and rubbed at his chin. “Have you tried explaining it to him? You might just gain an ally if you can convince him.”

“This all hangs on the fact that he actually believes me to be his mate. There is the possibility that he’s only acting on orders in an attempt to separate me from everyone and hold me in Snake River.”

“You won’t know unless you try. Not everyone is your enemy, Lynk.”

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Lynk frowned, shook his head, and walked backward as he noticed the dream beginning to collapse around him. “That doesn’t make everyone my friend, either. Guilty until proven innocent.”

* * * *

“Okay, so what do we know?” Torren asked as they all gathered in one of the rooms in the basement after waking up from their drug-induced sleep. With Varik and Raven joining their group, it was the only place in the house they could meet that was light-tight and allowed their friends the protection from the sun’s harmful rays.

What had felt like only minutes to Kieran had actually been nearly two hours. He’d always thought it was exactly the opposite. A few minutes in the real world equaled several hours in a dream. It was a little disconcerting to have all of his preconceived notions proven false.

“I never saw Leader Tuesday,” he offered when no one else spoke up. “Did anyone else?”

Everyone shook their heads with identical frowns on their faces.

“I recognized a lot of people as members of the Snake River Coven, but I didn’t see their infamous leader,” Raven agreed. “I was, however, able to speak to Gideon.”

“Did he put my brother in the well?”

All heads turned and every set of eyes in the room landed on Lynk. He didn’t flinch or cower under their scrutiny, though. The look of anger and determination that shone on his face was sexy and provocative. It wasn’t often that