Free Web NovelChapter 51: Find A Way I
"Damon wouldn’t do something like that," Blaise said with a wan grin.
I could feel his tumultuous emotions whirling within him, the strongest emotions being his reluctance to leave me conflicting with his innate loyalty to Damon.
"I know it’s hard to believe now, but he does care for me as my older brother. He’s hardly going to send me far away over and over again," Blaise said, removing his shirt from my hand and replacing it with his own, pressing a tender kiss to my knuckles.
The display of sweetness mollified me briefly, but the thought of losing Blaise for good hit me harder than ever.
"Damon is an asshole," I said with gritted teeth. "How can you stand him? You know this is simply a ploy to keep us apart!"
"He is my older brother, my twin, no less," Blaise said with a helpless shrug, a tiny smile on his face. "What else can I do but love him? He was half my soul before I met you."
I paused, my lips twisting in distaste. I didn’t like the fact that I was being compared to Damon. It felt like we were competing for Blaise’s affection, for the same spot in Blaise’s heart, and to make matters worse, Damon was winning by virtue of the fact he had known Blaise for a longer time.
Blaise laughed. "Harper, surely you cannot be jealous of my own brother?"
"No, I’m not," I said, even though part of me certainly was. I would be less cagey about Damon’s influence on Blaise if not for the fact that Damon was a ruthless scheming bastard. I trusted him as far as I could throw him.
Blaise continued to speak. "And while it might be a ploy, it can’t be denied that the outer borders do need patrolling. We’ve been getting reports of a rebellion brewing at the edges and I need to investigate. Housekeeping needs to be done, and there’s no one else for the job."
"There’s..." Elijah was injured, but I wracked my mind before coming up with another name. "What about Kaine? He seems to be competent enough, isn’t he? What does he do, anyway?"
He certainly had to be skilled if he was included in a private meeting with Elijah and Blaise.
"He is very competent, but he recently returned from a long mission and he misses his mate. Damon already promised Nicole that he wouldn’t send Kaine out again for a month at least."
"Nicole is his mate?!" I squawked in surprise. I couldn’t think of two people more different from one another.
"Yeah, it was a big surprise for everyone in the pack." Blaise smiled. "The Moon Goddess certainly knew what she was doing though, I’ve never seen Kaine happier than when he was with her."
I smiled too. The Moon Goddess had given me a hellion like Damon, but then rewarded me with Blaise. And now Damon was threatening to tear us apart. My smile vanished like smoke in a breeze.
Blaise tried to comfort me. "Damon doesn’t want me or you dead. Just give him time. He’ll accept us soon."
I scoffed in disbelief; I had a lot less faith in Damon’s character than Blaise did. I couldn’t help but recall the state I saw Elijah in when I was in the infirmary; a man who was deathly loyal to Damon had been beaten black and blue with a broken arm simply because he failed to keep an eye on me.
What if Blaise had somehow failed to accomplish what Damon wanted from him? Would Damon punish him the same way he did to Elijah?
"Forgive me for not believing you, Blaise," I said dryly.
"Give him time," he repeated.
Blaise leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead before pulling me entirely in his embrace. I was wrapped in his arms, my face pressed against his chest as I breathed his scent in deeply. I had to score this into my memory. If I wasn’t going to see Blaise for a while, this would be all I had left until his return. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"Do you think..." I asked, "I could try to convince Damon to let me go?"
"You know what he would say," Damon said. "And I share his sentiments as well, in regards to your safety."
I pulled away from his arms.
"What if I trained?" I looked up, my eyes trained keenly on him, hope brimming in my eyes as I stumbled upon a solution. "I’m a lot stronger now than I was before! Just give me some time and some training, I can definitely become someone skilled enough to go with you! I’ll tell Damon right now, he can train me himself if he wants―"
Blaise shook his head slowly; my heart fell when met with Blaise’s gentle smile. It did not reach his eyes any bit.
"It’s for the best," Blaise softly said. "Harper, I understand your feelings better than anyone. There is nothing I want more than for you to come with me, but I can’t take this risk. Even if Damon were to train you personally, it would be near impossible for you to reach the minimum skills required in such a short time."
My ears focused on the words ’near impossible’. It wasn’t a complete no. As far as I was concerned, impossible wasn’t so far out of the realm of probable things. I, a mere wolfless human, was the fated mate of both the Alpha and Beta of Fangborne.
"I could try," I insisted. "No, I will try this. Blaise, I’m not letting you go without a fight."
"What are you trying to do? Challenge Damon to an eating contest? Throw rocks at his window to annoy him into sending you away?" Blaise asked, his lips pressed firmly to stop himself from breaking into an indulgent smile as he imagined his brother being pelted by pebbles.
Sensing his amusement, I scowled. I wasn’t a child making improbable wishes on her birthday to be humoured by her loved ones.
Now that my wish for a mated fate had come true, I would rather die than let it slip through my hands.
"No. I’ll challenge Damon to ritual combat!"
