Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) (33 page)

“You should mark her again.
You cannot risk losing her.
What happened to me could happen to you.
You could wind up with a hybrid mate from one of those horrid matchmaking balls.
Even if she was willing to stay with you, the hybrid female mate would resent your attachment to a slave.
You would lose her.
If you mark her again, then no one could separate you from her.”

“There is no guarantee that any couple will stay together, mark or no mark.
We’re fine as we are.
We’re getting to know each other again.
The mating bond makes everything so crazy.
Emotions are hard enough to deal with and understand when they are natural.
We need time to know ourselves, to know what is real and
what is artificial.
What Connal felt for you was real; what he feels for his mate is not real at all.
He does not even know the female.
How can he love her?
He loved you and it was real.”

“It was not enough, Drest.
He threw my love out the window with one bite!”

“I am sorry.
What he did was wrong.”

“What he did could not be helped.
I’ve never felt the urges from a mating bond, but I know enough to know that the pull is indescribable.
He could not resist it.
Even if he tried, he could physically die from the effort.
I am hurt, but I cannot blame him.
Although, he didn’t have to bite her in
the first place.
I did plead with him to find some way to avoid the ball.”

“I understand what you’re telling me.
I’ll take it under consideration.”

“I sense that you are afraid to mark her.
Why is that?”

He sighed.
Like Connal, Kambria was a telepath.
She could sense things in himself that he could not sense.
He wondered if he was really afraid to mark her, as Kambria suggested.
If she was his mate, she would no longer be his slave.
She would be free to leave him, should she wish it.
He didn’t think she would leave him.
Certainly not now, when she had few friends in Asstrumnia.
But eventually, she would know more people.
She could replace him with another,
although it was rare for a mate to leave the relationship.
He was having doubts because of Boadacea.
He was disturbed by the
p
rincess
’s claim that Eden had asked for Boadacea’s help to leave him.
He knew that Boadacea was dishonest; she had lied many times, so she was probably still lying.
The doubts plagued him, made him afraid to commit himself to Eden.
“There is no reason to mark her.”

“You are afraid to mark her.
Do you love her?”

He looked at her in surprise.
“I cannot love her.
She is an Avenal, a Flourdan, an enemy.”

“She’s more than that.”

He didn’t wish to analyze his feelings.
What was the point in it?
He
wanted to continue as they were, enjoying each other and avoiding the talk of deeper emotions.
He didn’t need anyone to love him.
He had been rigorously trained to do without the things that others needed.
Through deprivation came enlightenment, a higher awareness and insight.

Time flew by and
the three of them settled into a comfortable routine.
Kambria and Eden were becoming friends.
He was also relieved to see some of the shadows fade from his cousin’s eyes.
Eden no longer talked of going home.
When she did speak of the future, she talked about being with him, which made him happy.
She didn’t pressure him, but he knew that she wanted to be branded his mate.
He sensed she
wanted a more permanent union.
He wasn’t opposed to it, but he didn’t want to change anything between them.
Things were good and he didn’t know how things would change with a mating bond in effect.
Why fix something that wasn’t broken?
He understood that she wanted to rid herself of the hated slave collar, and he wanted that as well.
He couldn’t even introduce her to his family yet because he didn’t want to introduce her as his slave.
He couldn’t free her; it was too soon.
The druids needed to believe that she was under his
control,
otherwise, they would see her as a threat once more.
He didn’t wish to lure any extra eyes to his abode; he enjoyed his privacy.

Drest wanted his memories back.
He decided to make the trip to the druid fortress
in Dalmatia
to meet with the McRaven.
He felt anxious about leaving Eden, but he could not bring her to an unwelcome land.
The McRavens were not his allies, but they would not harm a bard.
He could meet with the McRaven without difficulty.
Hopefully, the druid would agree to help him retrieve his memories.
He told Eden of his plans and she was supportive.
He asked Kambria to watch the lodge and he set a few extra guards in place.
He didn’t expect any major problems to arise, as he would not be gone too long.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Drest had been gone for a couple of days, and already Eden missed him
.
The night seemed darker than usual and for some unknown reason, she felt on edge.
One glance at Kambria and she could tell that she felt it too.

“Do you hear anything outside?” Kambria asked.

“No.”

Kambria got off the sofa and peered out the window.
“I don’t see anything out there.”

Suddenly, the front door crashed open and Bran and Belenos stormed inside.
Eden stood from the sofa, immediately concerned.
She didn’t know how they had broken through
the perimeter; the guards would not have allowed them to get past the front door.
She feared that meant the guards were dead.
“What are you doing here?”

Bran leered at her.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, little pelt?
”

“You’re not welcome here.
You both need to leave,” Kambria said.

Belenos pulled open his trench coat, flashing his laser gun that was kept in the inner pocket.
“You’re outmanned and outgunned, bitches.”

“We’ll not be staying long.”
Bran transported behind Kambria and placed a silver colored collar around her neck.

“What the hell is this?” Kambria fingered the collar around her neck, trying unsuccessfully to remove it.

“That little device will ensure you don’t transport out of here.
You’ll not be able to use any hybrid abilities, either.”

“You need to leave.
Drest will kill you for this.”

Bran laughed.
“Drest would have to find us first.”

“What do you want?” Eden asked.

“I told you that I would have you,” Belenos said.
“You should have been turned over to the
King
’s fine.
We’re supposed to have first dibs and Drest thought to cheat us.”

“You cannot take her.
She
legally
belongs to Drest
and she is his mate,” Kambria said.

“She’s not his mate,” Belenos said.

“That’s a mere technicality.
He has marked her before and will do so again.
He will kill you both for this.”

“I’m not afraid of the bard.
Let him try to do something about it,”
Bran said.
“Our kind will pay exorbitant amounts of coin to fuck a Blonde Flourdan.
She’ll be our biggest moneymaker yet.”

“What are you talking about?” Kambria asked.

“It’s one of our side businesses.
We operate our own brothels so we do not have to suffer the lack of variety
at Donovan.
”
Bran looked at Eden with a lecherous expression.
“
But do not worry yourself too much.
We’ll not put you to work right away.
We’ll keep you for ourselves until we get tired of you, then we’ll put you to work on your back in the brothels.”
Bran
turned his gaze from Eden and
leered at Kambria.
“You will not be left out, dear Kambria.
We have a special use for you.”

Kambria charged at Bran
, trying to take him down.
He restrained her in his arms; without her hybrid abilities, she was defenseless.

“You cannot get away with this,” Kambria said.

“Don’t kid yourself.
Nobody will miss you.
You’re nothing but a
whore, Connal’s leftovers.
Your family will not care that you are gone.
They’ll be glad of it, since you are nothing but an embarrassment to them.
No hybrid female takes a lover who is not her mate.
It is not done.
You’re a disgrace to your race.”
Bran looked at Belenos.
“I’m taking this one to the research lab.
Go ahead and entrance the pelt.
When you’ve had your fill of her, bring her to the research lab.
I want my turn with her before we put her to work.”
Bran, holding Kambria in his arms, transported out of the lodge.

She was screwed.
Drest wasn’t expected to come home for several more days.
She had to assume that the guards were dead.
He wouldn’t even know who had taken them.
He may
eventually track them down, but by then, it would be too late.
She wasn’t going to let them install her in some brothel.
She wasn’t sure how she’d prevent it.
Belenos had superior strength and he likely had hybrid abilities.
Her only chance was to outwit him somehow.
“Belenos, I thought you cared about me.
You wanted me to be your mate.”

“I only wanted to fuck you.
Why mate with you when I can fuck you without the mating part?
Besides, I couldn’t mark you.
That was too bad, for you.
I didn’t care one way or the other.”

“You would let Bran rape me?”

“He is my partner in all things.
We don’t mind sharing.
When we’re
done with you, we’ll make gobs of coin by selling you.
I expect you’ll entertain at least sixty a day, possibly more.
”

“How could you even think to do something like that to me?
I thought we were friends.”

“You won’t mind it too much.
You’ll be entranced.
Pelts will do whatever they’re told without a complaint when entranced.
It’s why I love to use entrancement.
I remain your friend, Eden.
I plan to limit the ways in which you can be used by the others.
I’ll ensure they do not use excessive force and I’ll keep the beatings to a minimum.
I’ll try to preserve you for as long as possible to ensure the greater profits.
If you do
well, I may find some way to reward you.”

“
Belenos,
please do not do this.”

“You may find you like it.
Now, look at me while I put you under.”

She saw his eyes glow red and she knew that he was trying to put her under entrancement.
She
instantly closed her eyes and
collapsed to the floor
, falling in a heap.
She couldn’t let herself be entranced, so she’d have to fake it.
She felt him drag her upright and she kept her eyes closed, afraid that if she opened them, he’d put her under.
She remembered the others had told her that she responded to entrancement in an abnormal way, so perhaps Belenos would accept her irregular response.

“Open your
eyes,
pelt.”

She opened them slightly, trying to adopt a glassy eyed look by refusing to allow her eyes to focus.
She swayed on her feet slightly.

“You don’t look right.
Don’t be playing me, pelt.
You will obey me at all times.”

She felt him grasp her tightly.
Minutes later, he transported them to another location.
He led her by her arm into a large manor.

“You see this place?
It is all
mine
.
I’ve got one of the largest estates in Ravenwood.”

She noticed the estate did not appear
well
guarded.
Did he have no fear of enemies?
She was led through a large entry into a main hall.
She
noticed a well-dressed female standing nearby.