Chapter 164
My heart jumped and heat pooled in my gut. Images flashed through my mind, images I usually only thought about in relation to Candido, but I could see him. I could almost feel the heat of his hands on me. I didn’t… want it, but I didn’t feel like it would be the worst thing I had ever experienced.
I tried to push the thought away. I didn’t know why this man was having this effect on me. I loved Candido. I’d die for him, just the same as he would die for me. We were mates, and as soon as all of this was over, we’d get married and start our life together. Yet, the thought of it flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t but think more about it.
I bet… I bet Cillian wouldn’t hesitate to have me now that I was twenty. I wonder if back when I first met Candido, if Cillian had been in his place, would he have hesitated to take what I had been offering that night? I didn’t know either way. Did vampires have an age of majority like werewolves? Based on what Raven said about her life, they didn’t have any hang-ups about having sex.
As far as I could imagine, it was the worst thing he could ask of me. A small sacrifice in the scheme of keeping the members of Moon Shadow alive so we could reclaim all the territory and finally get rid of vampires.
When I thought about it, I was thrilled. This was the first time that I had really been able to do something of real use since all of this started. They wouldn’t be able to say I was useless or in the way. Even Julia would have to take back everything she said. Candido wouldn’t be happy about it, but he’d see that I was capable of making decisions on my own for the good of Moon Shadow and our territory.
He’d see me more as an adult if I did this. If I took on this burden. He had to. More than that, he had to see me as more of a werewolf. The others, when they found out, wouldn’t be able to doubt me anymore. Taking this deal, whatever came of it, meant that I was truly on their side, no matter what was in my blood.
It was the ultimate sign of choosing Candido.
“I agree.”
He offered his hand. I took it and I watched light wrap around our wrists. It felt hot like direct sunlight before it vanished. He withdrew his hand and smirked.
“I’ll have them all questioned before nightfall,” he said and turned as the wall came down. “I looked forward to our next meeting, Hedy.”
He turned and walked down the street.
“Hedy, what have you done?”
I looked at Candido who stood over me, fuming.
“I made sure that—”
“That was the most reckless thing you could have ever done! You have no idea—What did he even ask of you?” Candido asked.
I set my jaw. “It doesn’t matter. Everyone will be safe.”
“You don’t know if you can trust that,” Candido hissed. “We’ve already been trapped here like animals and now you’ve made a deal with a man you don’t even know?”
He turned. “And you? You should have pulled down the wall. I know you have the power to. How could you let her do something so foolish?”
“Do not force your fantasies on others,” Ian said. I turned to look at him. He stood a few feet away looking as bored as ever. There was a bit of amusement in his eyes. I wondered for a moment if he expected something like this to happen. “I have no interest or will to coddle her or anyone else. She can make her own mistakes. She is an adult by your standards.”
“Barely.”
“I am adult! I’m twenty!” Candido didn’t even look at me, and it only angered me more. “I’m not going to let you treat me like a child! It was my decision to make.”
Ian smirked. “She is right. It was her decision. Does it hurt more that she made it or that you had no power to stop her?”
Candido growled. “You know damn well that she isn’t prepared to make a decision like that!”
“I am too!” I yelled. “I already did. There’s no going back. You can’t change it.”
“Again,” Ian said chuckling. “She is right.”
He shook his head. “I think I figured out what your real issue is… I find it extremely entertaining.”
“You know nothing about me,” Candido growled.
“I’ve seen enough to know all I need to,” Ian said.
“I would have never allowed her to make a decision like this,” Candido hissed. “Is this what vampires do to their family? Let them make dangerous and ill-considered decisions?”
“As you are truly the paragon of healthy family relationships….” Ian smirked. Candido went stiff. Ian cocked an eyebrow. “And Hedy, while related by blood has made her choice. She is no one’s responsibility but her own at this point.”
“Even if she were my responsibility, she is an adult.” He shrugged. “Cillian will not kill or maim her. She will be fine…. Though he may make her reconsider who she wants to call Daddy in private, it really isn’t my concern, nor is it yours.”
My face heated as Raven looked thoughtful.
“Keep your sick thoughts to yourself,” Candido said. “Hedy isn’t ready for anything like that.”
“I’m not a child!” I said. “You can’t speak for me.”
“She’s her own woman,” Shiloh said coming with a wide grin. “Cillian’s guaranteed to treat her like one…”
Candido snarled. “Shut up.”
“I knew what I was doing, Candido,” I said lifting my head. “I saved everyone!”
Messiah coughed into his hand.
“You don’t know shit!” Candido hissed, whirling on me. He was flushed and his eyes seemed unfocused. “You know nothing about Cillian or what his true intentions are toward you, werewolves, or anything else. You were reckless and didn’t even listen to me—”
“He was going to kill people of Moon Shadow if I didn’t!” I cried. “You heard him. Is that what you wanted?”
“You don’t know that either!” Candido said. “And what good is making any sort of deal for their life if the information they’re guarding is lost anyway? In a matter war, information is power.”
“At least, they’re alive,” I crossed my arms. “I stand by my decision to save their lives at any cost.”
“You don’t really have a choice,” Raven said. “Blood bonds and all.”
“You made a contract with him?” Candido hissed. “What did you offer?”
I licked my lips. “Anything he wanted.”
His eyes bulged, and Messiah let out a low whistle. “Wish I was here for that.”
“Is she serious?” Shiloh asked.
“As a meteor strike,” Ian said wryly. “She’s an adult. She made a whole decision on behalf of the people she calls her family…”
I glanced at him. His tone was mocking, and I could see that he found it funny.
“Oh, she’s a great hero,” Shiloh said, snickering. “I can see it being a real sacrifice.”
“It was!” I said, glaring at them. “What right do you have to mock me?”
“Well, if I as into a daddy, tall dark, and handsome would have been it,” Raven commented and shrugged. “Shame blondie, you should have just fucked her when she was practically begging you to. Not sure if she’ll be interested after Cillian’s done.”
“He does have a… reputation,” Shiloh snickered.
I stammered. “I’m not… I—I love Candido. We’re mates. He’s the only one I want to sleep with.”
They all burst into laughter.
Candido growled at me. “I’m not letting you do this. There has to be a way to break it.”
“No!” I stepped back from him. “Even if you could, it would just mean that he’d kill them all.”
“Hedy—”
“I’m Pandora. I have just as much say and investment in Moon Shadow and everything as you do. I’m second-in-command. And I’m going to be your wife and Luna, Candido. I have to start making choices for the good of all us. Didn’t you say I should grow up?”
Candido narrowed his eyes at me. “You think making a terrible decision is growing up? Did you feel older saying yes knowing I would be against it?”
“Maybe she just wanted a spanking,” Messiah called.
Ian scoffed. “This is all very entertaining. You might want to head back to check on your precious friends. Raven, Shiloh, Messiah, are you coming?”
Raven nodded, and Ian walked in the direction that Cillian had gone. They followed still snickering.
“Going where?” I asked.
“The duke has come to Lunae’s Circle,” Ian said loftily. “There is a meeting… Considering your new circumstances, I would invite you--”
“I’m bringing Candido.”
“I said would,” Ian said, scoffing. “And only if I could be sure you would actually contribute to the conversation, which I have no faith in. Carry on with your little argument.”
