Bonds Broken

“Good morning,” Talon grumbled as he entered the kitchen.

“Morning? I think you mean afternoon,” Eric chided him. “We just sat down for lunch. Have some.”

“Thanks.” As Talon sat down, the others glanced at each other, then back at Talon, but he refused to look at them or speak.

“How are you doing?” Lily asked, but Talon remained quiet.

She decided to take another approach. “How is Wren?” Lily asked.

Talon shrugged. “She is fine, just tired.”

“Speaking of Wren,” Evan spoke up, “she will be working with you at school starting tomorrow, right?”

“She may be at the same school, but she will have a different schedule and be in a different building. We will have little to no contact, so do not get any ideas,” Talon growled, concentrating on his food.

Just speaking about Wren was enough to make him remember what had happened upstairs. He needed to take a step back and regain some control over his life.

Things were getting messy.

“That is a shame,” Carrie said. “Just think of all the guys who will want to get to know Wren better if they think she is single.”

“What?” Talon looked up, confused. What was she talking about, and why should it concern him?

“You should at least try to eat lunch with her. She will not know anyone there at first,” Lily commented.

“No.” Talon shook his head. “I do not eat with anyone at work. It would send the wrong impression to the other teachers.”

Lily ignored his remark and continued. “Perhaps we should say she is his fiancée,” she said to the others. “That way, there will not be any misunderstandings.”

“Like hell!” Talon snapped. What were they trying to do to him?

He was not going to take Wren as his fiancée just because they were worried she might get hit on. Who would be crazy enough to hit on her anyway?

She was not that good-looking to begin with.

“Watch your language,” Eric commented with a grin.

They had finally ruffled Talon’s feathers. They had never seen him so riled up over a simple comment.

It was nice to see that he was human after all. Things were looking up.

“I will not have her as my fiancée. Period. It is no concern of mine who hits on her. We are partners, not lovers.”

Talon froze. He could feel the anger mixed with sadness coming from her as clearly as if it were his own.

Wren leaned against the wall outside the kitchen, fighting the urge to cry. What was wrong with her? She should be glad Talon did not want her in that way. She could feel the anger radiating from him.

She gave herself a mental shake. It would be best if she just focused on what she needed to do and not let herself get attached to him.

He had said it himself. They were just partners, nothing more.

He had just made it clear—he thought nothing more than that for her. He had a duty to her, so she would make sure she only gave him the same.

~So why do I hurt so much?~

“It will happen sooner or later,” Eric commented harshly. “You have already gone through the second bonding. The third will come, and speaking of that…” Eric pivoted away from the line of conversation. “What the hell were you thinking last night? You could have gotten her and yourself killed pulling a stunt like that! Do you know how dangerous it was to do your bonding when you were both injured, four stories high on a six-inch beam?”

It was Talon’s turn to tell him to watch his language.

He no longer cared what Wren heard. He had just been telling the facts.

These emotions he was feeling toward her were just the bonding process, nothing more. The sooner she and he got that through their thick skulls, the easier it would be for them to do their job.

It was just a job.

Speaking of which, he had spent enough time playing house with everyone. If all they were going to do was ride his ass and tell him what he was to do and think, he was better off without them.

He did not need that kind of family either.

“I know just how dangerous it was, thank you very much. I already told you, I did not plan it, and I did not know how to stop it. If I could go back and stop it from happening, I would. It is a pain in the a…behind.” He shot the two teenagers a look.

“Having all of these emotions thrown at me all over the place. First her and now you guys.” He shot a look at the kitchen door and, because he really was an ass, he raised his voice to make sure she could hear his next sentence clearly.

“You would think she would know how to control her emotional state better.” God, he hated himself right now.

The others stared at his outburst.

More than the fact that he had just spoken more to them at that moment than ever before, the fact that he would speak so honestly was shocking.

Talon did not discuss personal matters…ever.

“We know you could not control it, honey.” Lily was the first to recover her speech. “It is just… We worry about you two. You are both so closed off to everyone and everything around you. We are only trying to show you we care.”

“Do not worry,” Carrie said. “It is completely normal to be a bit emotional during the first couple of days. Your body is finishing the bonding process. You will learn how to control this new stage.”

“Yeah, in a couple of days you will be back to normal…mostly,” Emerald added.

Talon let out a sigh.

He knew what he was doing was from the bonding right now. Still, he was using it as an excuse to distance himself from her.

It was bad enough she was stuck with him for the rest of her life, but for her to fall for him now would only hurt her more in the end.

He could barely take care of himself, let alone someone else. He needed to cut ties.

Remove himself from all these people and remember who he was. A cold, bitter man on his own against the world… Too bad he did not like that man anymore.

“Still…” Michael peered out from behind his paper. “It should not be too strong right now since she is not here with us, right? Is it that strong?” he asked carefully.

Talon was not telling them something.

Talon could not tell them she was just outside, hearing everything.

“No. This bond and she are just an annoyance.”

Wren stiffened. ~I am a pain? An annoyance? He does not want to be bonded to me. Okay. I get it, and I will respect his wishes.~

She knew what she had to do now.

She would just have to shut down all her emotions so she would not be a hindrance to him. After all, he obviously did not want her around if she was feeling his emotions, right?

He was angry and frustrated, along with… Was it self-loathing and loneliness too? The man was a hot mess, and she did not do hot messes.

“Good morning.” Wren waited until everyone had fallen silent before stepping into the kitchen and pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

“Good afternoon. How are you feeling, dear?” Lily asked.

“Fine, thank you,” Wren said as she headed for the door.

“Won’t you sit down and eat?” Eric asked.

Like hell she would. Not with this atmosphere. Besides, if she stayed, she just might kill him.

“No, thank you. There is much I need to do before tomorrow. Have a good day, everyone.” Wren did not look back as she left the room.

***

Everyone turned toward Talon.

“What?”

“Well, what was she feeling?” Emerald demanded.

Talon did not want to answer their questions at the moment. Just before she had entered, all emotions seemed to have drained right out of her.

~How did she do that?~

“Nothing.”

“Uh?”

“There was no emotion coming from her,” he clarified. Might as well tell them the truth. Maybe they would know what was going on, but he sure as hell did not.

The others looked at each other.

“She must be pretty upset with something if she is trying that hard,” Eric commented. The others agreed.

“You had better figure out what is going on with her. It would take a lot of self-control to hide her emotions from you right now. What did you do to her?” Emerald asked him.

“She is fine. I did nothing to her.” Talon picked up his dishes. “I have things to do.”

~What is going on? Is she that mad, or could she be sad?~ Not that he cared what she felt right now.

The others were right, of course. Something was wrong. How was she shutting down all of her emotions like that?

Talon stopped, colliding with Wren as he turned the corner. “What the…”

“Sorry.” She looked up at him. “Do you know an ugly-looking man who carries an old-fashioned Tommy gun with him and has a long, nasty scar across his face?”

Talon looked at her. “What do you mean by ugly?”

“What do you mean by Tommy gun?” Eric asked.

The others were standing immediately. How had someone gotten into the house without their knowledge in the first place?

“Let’s see… Short, bald, round, scars covering parts of his body that are visible, with a really big ring on his finger.”

Talon stiffened as she gave the description. “How would you know about him?” he asked.

“He is in the main hall asking for you,” Wren said. She turned and started to walk away before stopping and turning back toward him.

“Oh, I was not going to do this, but since you might not be alive in a bit…” The man had frightened her. His eyes… They scared her. There was nothing there.

She worried for Talon but could only think of one way to show him that. So…

She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek.

Talon froze at her touch. ~What is she playing at now?~

Wren stood on tiptoe and placed a light kiss right on his lips.

All Talon could register was that her lips were soft before they were gone.

Wren pulled back and slapped him across the face.

“What are you, bipolar?” Talon asked. Damn, he had been taken in by her kiss.

Wren glared at him, letting loose her emotions. She was not going to let this man die before she told him exactly what she thought of him and his earlier comments.

“The kiss was for taking care of me last night, and the slap was for your earlier comments. I may not be the most beautiful, or even the nicest person you know, but if you did not like me, you should not have bonded with me,” Wren said. She took a deep breath, going for broke.

“But since you are a self-righteous, egotistical snob—I would not insult a dog by calling you an SOB—you can go back to the hell you came from.” She turned and left, leaving everyone staring, open-mouthed, at her proud back.

“That would be from trying to control her emotions,” Lily explained.

Talon rubbed his cheek where she had slapped him as he went to greet his guest.