Damian's voice was flat. "Are you analyzing, or warning us?"
"Both." Damon finally looked up. "When she wakes up, no one says the word mate."
My jaw set. Damian's went still in the same heartbeat.
Damon's mouth curled, dry and humorless. "Don't pretend you haven't felt the bond. It's been pulling tighter every time we get near her."
He let that sit. Neither of us moved to deny it.
"She has been drugged by Ronald. She has been opened up by Vivienne. She just learned that the family she trusted handed her over for cash." He said each piece slowly, the way a lawyer lays out exhibits. "If she wakes up and the first thing she hears is the word mate, it isn't going to sound like fate to her. It is going to sound like another collar."
I dropped my gaze.
"What if she wakes up and feels noth
