Bound by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

enough.” Demetrius’s hand curled into a fist.
    It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough, not for Nick. Yes, you bastard, hit me. Haul off and beat the shit out of me. Let’s finish this once and for all .
    Isadora pushed her way between them. ”Both of you, stop it.” She looked up at Nick with frustration and hurt alive in her familiar eyes. “What the hell’s come over you? I don’t need this right now. You’re supposed to be my friend. Why are you doing this?”
    Nick made the mistake of looking from his brother down to her. And though the darkness still whirred, one look was all it took for the soul mate bond to come screaming back.
    It slammed into him. Stole his breath. A sharp pain sliced through his chest, one so intense it echoed through his entire body.
    No… He was intentionally lashing out at her, wanting her to hurt because he hurt. Because he couldn’t cope. Because he still wanted when it was more than clear she didn’t want in return.
    Regret and anger made his head buzz, and he stumbled back, turning away. His hands shook as he brought them together and opened the portal back to the colony.
    “Nick, wait—”
    He couldn’t. Not even for her. And yet…
    A tiny voice in the back of his head—a dark voice he wanted to ignore but couldn’t—said he’d just planted a seed. Fear was the greatest motivator of all. And Isadora was smart. To save her child, she’d come to him.
    He just had to be patient.
     
    * * *
     
    Natasa’s pulse raced while she waited in the outer room of Aella’s tent. She swiped at her brow and looked down at the perspiration on her fingers.
    Just nerves. That was all. Nothing more.
    She rubbed her hand against her thigh and tried to convince herself of that fact, but Aella’s tent proved to be too much of a distraction. It was larger and grander than all the rest, made up of three trees decked together and strewn with canvas to create multiple, spacious rooms. The female didn’t live as a peasant, like the rest of the Amazons and those they protected. Thick rugs ran across the decking beneath Natasa’s feet. Colorful pillows in all shapes and sizes were scattered along the floor near the far wall to form a comfortable lounging area. A purple velvet couch and matching chairs were set up on the other side of the room. Intricately carved tables, golden candlesticks holding flickering candles, even gilded mirrors hanging on the tent walls rounded out the rest of the space.
    For a moment, she was transported back to her mother’s palace in Egypt. To the gold, the jewels, the richly colored fabrics and ostentatiousness when there had been so many outside the carefully constructed palace walls suffering in the blazing heat and dust.
    That suffering—and the palace’s careless attitude toward it—had been a point of contention between her and her mother. Between her and her mother’s husband, the king. It had been the reason she’d run away at such a young age.
    What a fool she’d been. So filled with ideals and the thought she , of all people, could make a difference. She hadn’t made a difference. She hadn’t even been able to take care of herself. Instead she’d been locked away. And now, the world as she’d once known it was no more.
    The enormity of her situation bore down upon her, opening a hole the size of Mount Olympus in her chest. She should have been patient. Should have listened. Should have waited for her mother to tell her who and what she was. Maybe if she had, she’d know what to do now.
    Canvas rustled on the far side of the room, jolting Natasa from her thoughts. Two guards stepped beneath the archway and moved forward, holding the flaps of the tent door open so the Queen of the Amazons could glide past.
    “Thank you, Smyrna, Clymene.” The queen nodded. “You may both wait outside.”
    The guards nodded and moved back the way they’d come, leaving Natasa to face Aella on her own.
    Natasa bowed, wondering what the hell Smyrna had