“Nope.” I didn’t think saying that my obsession had intensified was going to cut it.
“Maybe we should consult Dara,” Vlad said as he looked towards Damyr. “She might have come across this.”
“Wilder said it was unheard of.” I leant forward, propping my elbows on the table.
“Dara has been around a lot longer,” Aleksey offered.
Damyr nodded. “True. I’ll reach out.”
“No,” I said firmly.
“Excuse me?” Damyr’s voice was low and threatening.
“I think Wilder should do this on his own.” I don’t know why I said that, but it felt right. The thought of the Morozov Mafia getting all up in Wilder’s business made me feel… unsettled.
“What?” Bishop asked, a dumbfounded look creasing his face. “Why?”
I pursed my lips, struggling to find the right words to convey what was going through my head. It was so rare that I felt anything for anyone other than my twin that whatever this waswith Wilder had my thoughts all twisted. “I kind of want to keep him but also… play with him? And support him and help him.”
“Play with him?” Aleksey sputtered.
Bishop leant closer and placed the back of his hand on my forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”
I batted his hand away. “Yes. Look, I think there is something more happening here than just visions and it centres around Wilder. I want to help him discover what it is and doing it for him, Damyr, isn’t going to help.”
Damyr stared at me intently and silence descended upon our little group.
“Fine,” he said eventually. “You can take him to Dara. He’s your problem, but if anything happens to him, it’s your head that I’ll deliver to Dara.”
My cold heart lurched violently. I was being ordered to spend time with him. How utterly fucking perfect.
Bishop grabbed my hand, threading his fingers through mine, and squeezed it. “Are you sure you want to pursue this?”
I looked him dead in the eyes. “As sure as I’ve been of anything.”
“This is going to change us,” he said softly, too many emotions swirling in his eyes for me to decipher.
“I know,” I replied. I wasn’t sure how I felt about what would happen to our dynamic by introducing Wilder in between us. We were just going to figure it all out because there was no way I was letting Wilder go.
My twin seemed to look into my eyes for a long time, searching for something. I knew we had an unusual dynamic. Hell, I’d stalked my twin since we’d separated at sixteen then pretty much forced him to come back with me after an intense weekend on my private island.
“Okay,” he finally said. “We will talk about this together when we’re alone, but I’m not sure how I feel about you holding magic. Surely that’s dangerous?”
I shrugged. “I’ll find some answers with Wilder.”
My little witch was going to hate that I was officially now his shadow, but I didn’t care. I was about to invade every second of his life, whether he liked it or not. I already knew where he lived, but I needed to stop by for a visit.
“Why Wilder?” Bishop asked, his brow cocked in curiosity.
I dragged my bottom lip between my teeth, taking a minute to find the right words. “He’s pretty and soft. Vulnerable. And he smells good.”
“You’re so fucking weird,” Aleksey groaned.
Benji shivered in Damyr’s lap and grimaced. “He smellsgood?”
I nodded. “Yes, like a thunderstorm. Impossible to predict and all that power in something so fleeting is intriguing. I also want to slide under his skin just to be a part of him.”
Bishop choked on his coffee, Vlad froze with his fork halfway to his mouth, and the newlyweds shared a concerned look.