Page 14 of Upon Shattered Bonds

Regret spread across the shadowed panes of his face, the sense of it so strong it rebounded through the pulse of the mating bond between them.

“It’s a mistake I wish to remedy.”

“I can’t be your mistake.” She couldn’t control the raw emotion that infused her voice. “Just like you can’t be mine.”

Hurt flashed in his eyes. Stepping forward, he closed the distance between them. “Please, Nina. There’s only you. There has never been another. Not since we discovered the truth between us.”

Her eyes misted, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. Turning away, she wrapped her arms around herself, desperately trying to push past the feelings of inadequacy that crawled through her.

“Please leave,” she pleaded, not brave enough to look back at him. “I am not yours, and I never will be.”

Devastation flooded through her core, but whether it stemmed from her or through the bond between them, she couldn’t tell. For one fleeting, agonized moment, she thought he’d sway toward her and sweep her in his arms, but then the moment was gone.

Still staring at the intricate stonework of the terrace floor, she barely caught the hint of sandalwood as it disappeared on the wind.

Chapter Six

Sleep evaded Nina.

The beaming sun hung high in the sky, but the late winter rays were yet soft and white. She’d returned to the terrace, searching aimlessly for her peace of mind. As she’d walked, she unwove the precautions she’d placed on her territory earlier yesterday.

The only ones who remained in the Lexington mansion were her fledglings, and a few of her Raeth lieutenants: Celeste, Mere, and Remmus. All of them were sleeping away the exertion of the previous night’s festivities.

Glitter, courtesy of Celeste, was scattered over large portions of the pavement. Wine glasses were abandoned near several benches. The roses Gideon had bloomed yesterday were wilted given the near-frosted venue, shriveled and crumbling.

Nina collapsed into the reclining lounge chair that she often used in better weather. Manifesting her well-loved Pride and Prejudice paperback, she pulled out the tattered bit of paper that held her page and stared at the paragraphs without really seeing them.

She was bursting with happiness for the newlywed couple. She’d coveted their courtship for years before they’d given in to the pull between them, knowing instinctively that her brother and best friend were fated mates, but afraid to push them together before they were ready. She knew better than anyone what it meant when mating bonds went wrong. The pain both parties were forced to bear when one was not as willing as the other.

Nina could never have what Blake and Kaien had. While she yearned for her own happiness, however fleeting, she’d be damned if it was with Zeke.

By now, she’d read and reread the same sentence of her book several times, proving that her mind simply wasn’t in it. Setting it aside with a disgruntled sigh, she lifted her gaze to study the cloudless sky.

Why had Zeke wanted to dance last night? Why had he breached the unspoken agreement they’d had for centuries? Why had his kiss stirred something in her that was long forgotten? And why had the desperation in her soul eased when she was in his arms?

He was the one who’d effectually killed their mating. He was the one who’d denied her on baseless grounds. He was the one who’d abandoned her to an existence alone. Nina couldn’t fathom why he’d changed his mind now.

The thoughts jumbled together on the surface of her mind, confusion playing through the chords of her sanity. That was when warning bells suddenly clanged in her subconscious.

Frenetic energy pooled in her gut, the bitter taste of fear coating her throat. Leaping to her feet, Nina’s breath caught in her chest as the form of an unknown Raeth manifested across the terrace from her. Without a single word, the masked invader leveled a gun at her heart.

In that instant, three things occurred simultaneously.

One: the distinct sound of gunfire rang in her ears.

Two: a jumble of sound flitted into her mind, her brain recognizing it as a psychic communication, the syllables undecipherable.

Three: her deadly gifts roared to the surface unbidden, registering the threat before she could fully process it. The lethal barbs of her power struck the intruder only milliseconds later.

Two bullets had drilled through Nina’s breastbone and entered the vulnerable tissue of her heart. Fatally damaged, it stopped beating.

Chapter Seven

Sandpaper scraped across the rusted surface of the panel, the rasp of the back-and-forth motion oddly soothing. The burnt orange finish, dappled with corroded red flecks, had seen better days. Fortunately, Zeke’s experience restoring classic cars was extensive—and expensive.

His attention, however, was not on the car.

Coward, he thought.

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