CHAPTER 209: GUESS

Emira woke shivering and slowly opened her eyes, because she knew without opening them that she would be alone. And that is what happened... as felt disappointed when she saw the empty room.

For a moment she just lay there, staring at the ceiling, hoping that she was wrong. Maybe someone was outside. However, it was too silent.. So... no. They weren’t here. They had come to her, helped her through the crushing wave of her Heat, steadied her when she could barely think, and then they had left her the moment the most difficult day passed.

She looked down at the clothes she was wearing and gave a small, sad smile. At least they had thought to cover her like they didn’t want her waking up cold. It should have comforted her. It almost did. But it didn’t change the fact that she was alone again.

She curled up on the bed, pulling her knees in and wrapping her arms around herself, trying to hold on to whatever warmth was left from their hands and breathed in deeply. At least their scent still lingered. It clung faintly to the sheets and to her skin, like a reminder that they had been real and not a heat-induced dream. Because hadn’t they moved her out of the house not intending to touch her?

She closed her eyes and remembered the way they had touched her and taken her. She’d never thought that it would be like this... This connection and feeling of being one with them. And then, the way they had made her say it and made her claim that they belonged to her. The memory brought heat to her cheeks, but it also made her frown.

Hmpf. If they belonged to her, then they should have been here. In this bed. Beside her. Keeping her warm instead of letting her wake up shivering like this. What was the point of making her say those words if they were just going to act like it meant nothing?

"Umm... I thought you knew all that was done only during the heat of se*," her wolf said in her mind, sounding far too casual for Emira’s liking. "Because you wanted to claim them, and because you were aroused at the thought, they told you to claim them. That’s all."

"How is that all? If they’ve made me claim them then they belong to me."

"Do they? But how can you claim them? You are just a slave? You are not even their mate."

"So what if I am not their mate! I can still claim them!"

"You cannot! Not until you break the slave bond... which is unbreakable."

"Who said it is unbreakable?" Emira snapped back loudly at her wolf who chose that moment to go quiet.

Emira opened her eyes then and snorted," Oh! Now you don’t have a comeback? You didn’t think that there would be a way to break the slave bond, right?"

"But why would you want to break the bond. You are the one who tied us to you."

Emira stiffened as her eyes turned to the door. Standing there, wearing an apron and holding a tray of food, was Lance Stormhold. What was he doing here? When did he come? Why did she not sense him?

"You must be hungry," he said as he walked forward with a smile on his face.

Emira nodded. She was hungry. Not for food. She wanted to eat him... "That is a good idea. We have yet to taste him... The other two were quite delicious. So, he should be too." Her wolf piped up... Emira frowned at that. She was feeling jealous of her own wolf over knowing Zen and Kael’s taste. It was ridiculous, she knew that, but the annoyance curled tight in her chest anyway.

She was brought out of her thoughts with his growl as he and set the tray down next to her and leaned down, taking her mouth in a fierce kiss. Immediately, she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back, her hunger and arousal returning full force.

But before she could get closer to him, he broke the kiss. She scowled up at him and then leaned down and kissed her nose, "We have time for that baby. And as much as I want you to eat me with that sweet mouth of yours, you need nourishment."

Emira nodded as he pushed the tray of food in front of her. But then frowned. How did he know that she wanted to... do that. She turned her head to look at him and he smiled," Your expression says it all. Now, eat up, baby."

With the delicious scent of food teasing her, Emira put aside her questions and immediately started to eat. The food was delicious!!!

As she ate, she felt Lance staring at her and she turned to look up at him. "How can you break the slave bond, Emira?"

Emira stilled. She’d forgotten that he’d come here when she’d been talking to her wolf? Why was he asking her about breaking the slave bond? Was that why he was here? The tasty food that she had just been enjoying soured in her mouth, making her feel as if he was eating dust.

Why did she keep forgetting the important things? Lance loved Ramona. Whatever his reason for coming here now or yesterday had been, the ultimate goal was to make his mate happy. And knowing that all three of them had been with her would not have made Ramona happy. So, Lance wanted to find a way to break off the bond once and for all.

Her jaw clenched and she shook her head. Slowly, she placed the bowl in her hand back onto the tray and then turned to him. He was looking at her eagerly. Her eyes narrowed and in the next instant, she pushed him back onto the bed before moving to straddle him, her knees on each side. As she sat on his stomach, her fingers dug into his chest," You want to break off the bond?"