SEDUCTIVE PREY

LOSING FAITH

"No." I refuse. Shaking my head.

They all converge on me at once. Lamenting me for not wanting to use the only leverage we have to break free of Zayd's influence. Everyone but Ethan who silently watches me before clearing his throat. The room quickly falls silent, and everyone backs off of me.

"I'd like to speak to my wife alone." He tells them.

They all incline their head to him. Everyone but Vivienne who is too proud to bow to anyone who isn't her grandmother. She takes Trudy by the hand and follows the syndicate out of our room. Leaving the two of us to hash it out in private.

Using his power, Ethan forces the door closed and its locking mechanism in place. Then we both fall silent. Neither of us wanting to have this conversation but understanding that it is unavoidable.

"I know you don't want to do this, but what choice do we have?" Ethan pins me where I stand with a look.

"She trusts me. And I better than anyone know how soul-crushing it can be when someone betrays your trust. Please don't ask me to do this." I sulk.

"We've all done things neither of us wanted to do, Ali. Like influencing your father to forget his pain. Or extracting information from reluctant souls." He throws that in my face. "It's the sacrifice we make for the greater good, and you cannot be the exception."

I hate it when he's right.

"She'll hate me."

"She'll understand in time. It's not like you're trying to kill him. You just want to remove his influence."

Shaking my head, I tell him, "I can't."

"If you don't, everyone you love might die. Especially if he unleashes us on them. Which he can do as long as he's still linked to us." He points out.

"He'll know what we're up to. He'll sense it even."

"Probably. But let him come. I am not afraid of Zayd, and you shouldn't be either. We're both stronger than he gives us credit for and that can work to our advantage."

"What if he hurts someone? What if he hurts Lexie, or Eden, or my grandfather?" I argue.

"Then he's a dead man."

His words send a shiver up my spine because there's no trace or hint of him joking present in his eyes. And that scares me more than any of this. Ethan without his humanity in place is like a scene from a horror movie.

"I can't influence her because she's Dragan, and that particular ability doesn't work on enchanters. So, make no mistake Ali, you are our only hope."

My anxiety skyrockets and I begin to wring my hands to the point of them turning red. This is a lot of pressure. Placing his hand over mine to stop my fidgeting, he tilts my chin up using his index finger and kisses me gently on the lips. Distracting my thoughts long enough for me to give my hands a break.

Draping my arms over his shoulders, I deepen our kiss.

Anything to stop this conversation from happening.

I know I'm being a hypocrite right now, but Zola is a line I'm having a hard time crossing. I know I'm the one who suggested we use her to get information, but I didn't expect that I would have to be the one to do it.

Our kiss intensifies, our breathing now labored, and in a split second we go from standing to lying in our bed.

Our marital bed.

With Ethan's hands making quick work of my resolve.

Part of me rejoices in the thought that maybe this is it. That maybe I'm ready for this. But no sooner does the thought pop in my head, the other part of me becomes paralyzed.

There's no coming back from this once we cross this line.

There's no coming back from the gag-inducing stupor, endless amounts of goofy reverent faces I'll be making, or the permanent stamp he'll be etching into my soul. He will have burned all my mental walls to the ground leaving me vulnerable and exposed to him. Scorched and raw and utterly attached.

"Do want me to stop?" Ethan pulls away to look me in the eyes.

For the life of me, I can't bring myself to answer his question, because I don't really know. But as he backs away, my hand firmly grips him by the wrist to stop him.

Surprising me.

In that instant, I know with certainty what I want. What everything inside me wants more than the air I breathe. More than life itself.

Him.

"Continue." I find the courage to tell him.

And he does.

His lips graze my neck, igniting a blazing inferno inside me, and I give myself over to those flames. Our clothes disappear a short time later. Along with our abandoned will.

Bending to the point of breaking.

As the sky darkens above us, our two souls become one. Cementing his ironclad grip on my heart while branding my claim on his soul.

I don't regret a single moment between us as I lay in his arms, staring into his baby blues. Aware of how right this feels and how I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. But I know there are things we must still discuss.

Preferably with our clothes on.

I move to grab my clothes, but Ethan tightens his hold on me.

"Gain her trust and free us all, Ali." He pleads.

And like I knew I would the moment I allowed us to cross this line, I buckle faster than a newborn baby taking its first step.

"Okay."

He kisses me one last time before letting me go. We shover, get dressed, and head to find the others. Only, Preston, Tristan, Celeste, Trudy, Viv, and the remaining members of the Syndicate are waiting for us.

"Where are the others?" I ask.

Rather than answer me, Celeste hands me a note without even looking me in the eyes. And as I read the note, I quickly realize why.

They've lost their faith in me and have taken it upon themselves to rescue the others.

Feeling like a complete failure, I hand the note over to Ethan who looks equally as annoyed after reading it.

"They're going to get themselves killed." I tell Celeste.

"And their blood will be on your hands if you don't do something."

Inhaling deeply, I exhale a slow calming breath.

"We have three days to extract whatever information we can from Zola before we must hand her over. And if we're going to be successful, we all need to work together. We're family now." I glance over at Ethan who's already watching me and beaming with pride.

"Yes..." Tristan grimaces to feign disgust. "We heard."

Preston flashes Ethan and me both an amused smile before grabbing his water bottle and lifting it in the air to signal a toast. "That we did... she's a bit of a wailer, this one. Nonetheless, we welcome you both to the dark side."

Shame tinges my cheeks and I look away.

Mortified.

Then Ethan forces Preston to throw water in his own face with a flicker of his power for embarrassing me like that, and everyone bursts into laughter.