Free Bonds of Fire: The Bellum Sisters 2 (paranormal erotic romance) by T. A. Grey Page A

his suffering?
    God dammit.
    Could she stay and actually put up with him? She went into the cabin and fell onto the couch. Why did everything have to be so difficult? This was all Papa’s fault. Him and that stupid will.
    She wasn’t so mean that she could do that to him, but she also wasn’t going to put herself in the same situation she’d done with David. Tucking her knees into her chest, Willow curled up on the couch.
    She contemplated what Rachel had said. Pushing back against the Alpha. Wasn’t that what she’d been doing? Shit, she’d literally fought him, had outrun him, and outsmarted him through most of Europe. In fact, if it wasn’t for that stupid ice she slipped on, he might not have even caught her. If that wasn’t pushing back then she didn’t know what was.
    Willow closed her eyes as she remembered this morning. Her mouth suddenly dried out and she swallowed hard. He did please her in that way, but even she knew that was no basis for a relationship.
    “Ugh!” she said and slammed a pillow over her face. She didn’t want a relationship. Not with him. Did she want someone...yes. She wanted someone to talk to and share things with, to love. Lyonis Keelan wasn’t that man. Sure he was nice, but he’d break her so fast if she let her guard down.
    Moisture dampened her cheek. Willow blinked and felt it again. Touching her cheek, she saw a tear. Quickly she dried her face on the pillow and squeezed her eyes shut.
    She would figure something out. She always did. Her eyes drifted closed and she went to sleep.
     

 
    Chapter 10
     
    Lyonis’ smile widened as he spotted his mate sleeping on his couch. The sight made him feel lighter than air; something he wasn’t used to yet.
    After three hundred years of searching, he finally found his mate. Crouching down beside her, Lyonis chuckled as he removed the pillow crammed against her face.
    His breath caught as he looked at her. Beautiful as she was awake, she was even more so in sleep. Relaxed and calm with her light hair spilled around her, Willow was an enticing woman. His gaze caught on her cheek and narrowed.
    A quick glance at the pillow in his hands proved him right—she’d been crying. His hands curled into fists as a red haze fogged his mind. Who or what had made her sad?
    He gentled his hand to trail his fingertips over her wet cheek. A hard knot filled his gut like lead and slithered up to his heart. Did he make her cry? His heart nearly stopped at the thought.
    She’d been with him for barely a day and already she was sad. Lyonis stood and rocked back on his feet, his hand running over the back of his neck. He could fix anything. He’d fix this. She will be happy; she will be his mate.
    A knock sounded at the door. Lyonis quickly answered it before it woke her up. His two lieutenants, Jackie and Thane waited for him. Closing the door behind him, he stepped outside.
    “What’s going on?”
    “We have visitors,” Jackie said.
    “Who?”
    “Willow’s sisters, Tyrian en Kulev, and a demon.”
    “What kind of demon?”
    “Telal Demuzi.”
    “Send them to my office. I’ll be there in a minute.”
    “Sir,” Jackie asked, “is there any particular reason why these...individuals would be here, uninvited.” Lyonis grimaced as he considered his answer.
    “Willow and her sisters summoned a demon from below the rift. Last I heard, Chloe and Tyrian defeated the beast but I witnessed something in Germany that shows there may be more to the story.”
    Thane and Jackie exchanged glances before nodding and leaving. Lyonis quietly entered his house. He squatted down beside his mate and pushed the hair back from her face. She frowned and pushed his hand away with a grumble.
    The corner of his mouth kicked up. Even in sleep, she was a fighter. The needs he felt around his mate were more amazing than anything he’d ever felt. Hunger, desire, generosity, protectiveness were all taken to degrees he’d never imagined. Yet, she was sad. The first day