Evans, Gabrielle - Reckoning [Fatefully Yours 9] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) Read Online Free PDF

was both anxious and wary, but also excited because he felt sure a new piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place.
    Sitting in the backseat with Echo and Vapre, Syx felt good despite the fact that he’d been bleeding from practically every facial orifice. The pain had been excruciating, like someone driving nails into his skull. He’d felt sure he would die in that alley among the broken beer bottles and discarded trash.
    Once again, Echo had saved all their asses. Syx couldn’t have been prouder than if his firstborn had started playing Mozart at the age of two.
    Though the temptation was there, he refrained from dipping into his lovers’ minds and rummaging through their thoughts. They all needed a little break and time to regroup before they began talking about what had unfolded back at Silver City. If he caught even a glimpse of their thoughts, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth closed.
    “I love you,” Echo whispered, stretching out in the seat between him and Vapre. His tiny feet rested in Vapre’s lap, while his blond head nestled on Syx’s thigh. “I’m glad you didn’t die.”
    Syx chuckled under his breath. That was his Echo. The man rarely made a big deal about any of the hardships they faced. “I love you, too, sweetheart. I’m very glad we didn’t die, either. Thank you.”
    Echo flopped his hand around and yawned. “It was nothing. I hope he’s dead.”
    This startled Syx. Echo didn’t have a violent bone in his body. Each time he’d been forced to take a life to protect himself or someone else, the guilt had eaten away at him. What were they changing their sweet little mate into? Echo hadn’t even spared a glance for the fallen werecats—something that would have normally had the man in tears or close to it.
    “Do you mean that?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
    “Yes.” Echo rolled over and cuddled closer to him. “I’m sorry if that makes me sound cold and heartless.”
    Syx glanced over to see the same startled look on Vapre’s face that must have shown on his. Hadn’t Echo begged them not to kill the weres at the hotel? And now he practically relished in their demise. Though Syx had no reservations over the fact that Echo’s ex-lover and his henchmen deserved exactly what had been delivered to them, he didn’t like that Echo felt the same. His sweet, innocent mate was their light and refuge. They couldn’t allow him to become what they were.
    With a silent sigh, he looked straight ahead and caught Gage’s gaze in the rearview mirror. The man’s eyebrows drew together, and he shook his head slightly. Then he reached up and pushed his hand through his hair, subtly tapping his temple. Syx caught on immediately, dropped his shields, and reached out to Gage’s mind.
    “I can see what you’re thinking, and stop it. Echo did what he needed to do to save us all. Worrying over his motives isn’t going to help anyone.”
    Syx frowned and shook his head slowly. He pushed his thoughts back at Gage. Slipping into people’s minds to extract thoughts was intrusive enough, so he rarely used the reverse of his power. Besides, it was much more difficult, and the other person had to be receptive.
    “It’s not his motives that concern me. It’s that he doesn’t seem to feel any remorse. He’s never been this way before, and it worries me that we’re changing him.”
    “War changes people,” Gage answered immediately. “He protected his mates. He’s riding the high of everyone being safe. Wait until tomorrow before you start jumping to conclusions.”
    Syx met the werewolf’s eyes again and nodded. Perhaps the man was right. Though he didn’t want Echo marred with the emotional scars of battle, he also couldn’t stomach the idea of his mate becoming a hardened killer like the rest of them. It wasn’t as though killing was a recreational sport, or even that they enjoyed it. Once it was over, they never