Natalia struggled to keep from becoming overwhelmed by the recollections of what had transpired because recalling the events was difficult for her. She was getting critical information from Mila. She was aware that she was still lacking something. That still doesn’t explain why I am the one in the Visions, why I am the one who needs to persuade Agony not to kill everyone in his path, or why I can do so.
She waited for her friend to put the final pieces into place, but she remained silent, watching her expectantly. When neither of them had spoken for a couple of minutes, Mila finally broke the silence.
“What is the one thing in the supernatural world that trumps everything, Tali? What is that one thing that cannot be denied, cannot be broken, with the exception of death?”
Immediately her mother’s face came to mind, the utter devastation in her eyes, the heart-breaking screams as her mate died protecting them. Sorrow welled up in an instant, so severe that Natalia doubled over, her arms wrapping around her midriff as she swallowed the moan of pain the memory brought on. She couldn’t fall apart now, she just couldn’t. They had to rescue Agony’s parents. There was no time to indulge in the events that had happened.
Natalia knew Mila hadn’t asked that question to hurt her but to point her towards something she had known sub-consciously for a while now but had been deliberately subduing because she couldn’t deal with it.
The one thing that trumped everything within a pack was the bond that existed between mates. What Mila was hinting at, what she had seen in her Visions, was that she was Agony’s mate.
Admitting it to herself explained everything. She understood now why she felt the need to break through Agony’s reserve and make him see that he wasn’t a monster. She understood now why he didn’t frighten her, no matter how angry he became. Even as far back when they were on the train and everyone was afraid he would go rogue, she hadn’t been afraid of him, and he had listened to her when she fought to get him to calm down. She shouldn’t have been able to get through to him, but he had listened. It was all starting to make sense now.
“Who knows?” she whispered, her stunned gaze finally focusing on Mila.
“Dante, of course, and Dara figured it out too. I am not sure if Agony has worked it out however I believe Kothari was aware before he surrendered control to his feral side.”
Natalia bit out a curse, frustration marring her pretty face. She was becoming tired of Agony’s adherence to being split personalities. “They’re not separate people, Mila,” she sighed. “No matter what he says. If Kothari knows then so does Agony. It explains why he’s been so patient with me as well as being so protective.”
She let out another sigh, her emotions in turmoil. Far too much had happened in too short a time and the weight of everything was threatening to smother her whole. Her father was dead, her pack destroyed. Her mother was on the brink of death, emotionally scarred so badly it was unbearable. Now, she had to contend with being the mate to what had to be the most dangerous being to walk the planet. How the hell was she supposed to deal with it all? She dropped her head in her hand, her chest heaving as she fought for breath. She couldn’t do this, she just couldn’t…
~~~~~
Agony re-entered the clearing, his gaze quickly sliding over all who were there. Dante and Louis had been updated, and a plan of action had been agreed. They were close to reaching the area his parents were being held captive, so it made sense that they needed to think about how they were going to launch their assault. It made sense for Agony and Dara to split their resources so she had agreed that she would go with Louis and his vampires, and Dante, Mila and Natalia would go with him. When they were ready to launch their assault Agony would alert his parents and they could attack from within. Between the three groups they should have enough fire power to take on an army.
As his gaze swept the area, he searched for Natalia, his body tensing as he found her hunched over in distress, Mila rubbing her back. He was across the clearing in an instant, bewildered by what was happening and furious that she was so distressed.
“Breathe, Tali,” Mila was urging, her tone calm but firm.
Natalia was struggling to breathe? That didn’t make any sense. Neither did the abject fear that suddenly flooded his body, an emotion he was not used to experiencing. Why wasn’t she breathing properly? What had happened in his absence? Raw fury suffused him, and he glared at Mila.
“What did you do?” he demanded; his hands clenched into fist. It was all he could do to restrain himself from grabbing the petite vampire by the neck to shake the truth from her.
“Agony, back off,” Dara growled, sliding between him and the two females, her hand pushing hard at his chest. Beside her Dante and Louis flanked Mila and Natalia, their expressions morphed into their most feral sides.
Dara was telling him to back off? He wasn’t the one who had hurt Natalia.
Agony growled low in his throat, talons elongating as he pushed back. “Get out of my way, Dara. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you come between me and Natalia.” His words were slow and measured, the threat implicit.
His pack mate refused to move, steely determination in her eyes. “I am not afraid of you, Agony, and you can try to hurt me but be under no illusions that I won’t kick your ass all the way back down this mountain if you try. You are out of control right now and you need to back the fuck off before you do something that will end up getting us all killed, including your parents. So back off now!”
Fury engulfed him, white hot molten rage flowing through his veins. He would tear the entire place apart if she didn’t move out of his way. Dara had to be made to see that he was serious.
“Stop it!” Natalia cried out, her body heaving as she sucked in long, hard breaths. “Everyone calm down now! I just had a bit of a panic attack, nobody hurt me. Agony, please… I’m not hurt, just terrified by all the violent energy flying around right now.”
Hearing her voice was like a soothing balm washing over him. Her words registered and his rage turned to something else as she admitted her fear of him. He didn’t want her to ever fear him. He had a primal need that wouldn’t leave him, couldn’t leave him until he knew she was okay. Stepping around Dara who didn’t attempt to stop him, he swept Natalia into his arms and sped away from clearing.
“Give me this moment, Dara. I need to ground myself and I can’t do that there with others around us.” He shot the quick message off to his pack mate so she would know that he was back in control and wouldn’t try to follow them.
“Take the time you need,” she answered, no condemnation in her mental tone. “I’ll fix the misunderstanding here.”
He probably didn’t deserve her understanding, but Dara was always the one who would forgive Kothari anything. He would talk to her when they returned, but for now he had to find out what had caused Natalia so much distress she’d had a panic attack.
Staring at the woman he had been denying was his mate for far too long, Agony set her down on a large boulder and took a few steps away before turning back to face her. “You fear me?”