Vanished Pride (The Seven Sin Sisters 4) by Paloma Beck Page B

me
Magdalena. You shall pray to me as Goddess. For you are those I saved this day.
You are true to the promise made so long ago and granted to us through the
grace of God. Your honor lies in claiming your breed mate. It is as it should
be.’ My mother has us memorize that benediction as young girls.”
    “That’s right. You and your sisters are living as you should and you are
being held in the grace of God through the presence of the Goddess. Greatness
is coming, Paige, and you have an important role in that. There is nothing to
fear.”
    Paige shook her head.
    “Paige, I will let no harm come to you. I vow this. Sei tutto per me. Nothing is more important.” Donovan’s promise brought
a smile nearly as bright as the sun to Paige’s face. He felt a thousand feet
tall, awed by her faith in his protection.
    “It’s all so much to take, but I feel safe with you.” Paige’s words
affirmed the feelings he got from reading her emotions. He was shocked though,
when she took his large hands into her tiny ones and said, “I love you,
Donovan.”
    “Oh, Paige. I wasn’t sure you were there yet with me. I love you too. Ti
voglio molto bene .”

 
    * * * *

 
    Paige wasn’t sure how she got Donovan to agree she could go off to the
spa with her sisters, but somehow he’d reluctantly said yes. “Just remember
what I told you, Paige. It has gotten dangerous for the Valendite Breed, and
especially those of us serving in the TEU, so be extra vigilant. These people
we are up against won’t hesitate to use any weakness against us. They’ve
already proven that.”
    When Stefan arrived and escorted her to the car, Donovan was still
briefing her on security protocol as if she could remember every detail of what
he was saying. Goddess help her but she would have to rely on Stefan because
aside from, “push this button if you need anything,” Paige hadn’t been able to
concentrate on a thing Donovan said. It was her Pronouncement day! How could he
expect her to think about anything else? She needed this to be perfect.
    So consumed in her thoughts, they arrived at the spa before she even had
time to reapply her lip gloss. She’d already broken rule number one to be aware
of her surroundings, but her sisters were waiting at the spa with a few of
their own guards and that’s all that mattered. Paige needed sister time. Just
seeing them watching for her arrival made Paige jump from the car.
    Seeing Layla’s headshake and the other guards move forward quickly, she
realized she’d broken another damn rule. Looking sheepishly at Stefan, Paige
asked, “Can we not tell Donovan about this? I’ll be more careful next time.”
    Stefan nodded once and moved in front of her to open the door. “Let’s
just get you all inside the building.” He didn’t look happy with her and a
slight feeling of guilt washed through her. Maybe she felt so secure because she
also had a tracker in her purse. She couldn’t help it if she felt safe enough
not to worry. She was also a member of the Magdalena
Circle with some powers of her own growing stronger by the day. Paige knew
she could defend herself if she needed to.
    Once inside, the sisters fell into a chaotic mass of enthusiastic
embraces. It was difficult getting used to not seeing each other daily,
especially with Eloise and Gemma now spending most of their time in Italy.
    “I’ve missed you all so much,” Paige cleared the threat of tears from
her throat just as a frail woman with enormous glasses stepped into the room.
She had starched hair pulled back in a severe bun on top of her head. When she
greeted them with her high-pitched voice, she brought the Sinster sisters to
attention.
    “Shall we get started?” the woman asked as she clapped her hands and four
young men came to stand on either side of her. “We’ll begin with massages
before we get everyone dolled up for your celebration tonight. The spa is all
yours this morning so feel free to move about.”
    She smiled widely