Page 31 of Upon Shattered Bonds

Contentment. It’d eluded him for the better part of sixteen centuries, no matter how many times he’d fooled himself. Waking up beside Nina was the fulfillment of an impossible dream.

Brilliant sunlight streamed in through cracks in the drawn curtains, the soft brush of Nina’s rhythmic breath tickling his forearm. Closing his eyes, he could almost taste satisfaction.

Sleep had claimed his mate hours ago, and he savored the fact that she’d trusted him enough to slumber in his arms. It’d been a priceless gift. He fought the temptation to place a kiss on her forehead but lost. His lips brushed just above her softly arched eyebrow, a gentle smile softening his mouth.

Unfortunately, expending a vast amount of energy in such a short period affected even a Raeth, and his body craved sustenance. An ache had settled in the pit of his stomach. Carefully, he extricated himself from Nina’s slumbering form, at the same time reaching out telepathically to Kaien.

The other man’s reply was instantaneous. Is Nina okay?

Yes, but I need to refuel and didn’t want to leave Nina alone.

Her brother’s tone came through with surprising warmth. Toni will go up to keep her company, Zeke. We’ve plenty of food in the kitchen; you’re welcome to come down and join us.

Zeke didn’t respond, remaining beside the bed until a hesitant knock sounded at the door. He murmured a brief greeting as Toni slipped in to sit beside Nina, then left with one last longing look at the slumbering beauty upon the bed.

Walking the halls of Nina’s mansion alone was eerily disconcerting; he’d never been explicitly invited into her space except on business, and striding through what were clearly personal quarters felt like an intrusion. The uneasy feeling manifested in physical tenseness.

He’d shared one, maybe two, pleasant conversations with Kaien in the last few years. With Aidan and Nina’s vampire fledglings, even less. Though he hadn’t found the offer to join them in the kitchen odd, sharing a meal held a different level of familiarity between them.

As he descended to the main floor, he passed by a set of large, closed doors that he assumed was the kitchen. He quickly discovered his mistake: he’d opened Nina’s armory instead.

Always one to appreciate weaponry when given a chance, he cast a passing glance inside. Innumerable katanas and daggers were perfectly arranged along the walls, and stands for larger weapons lined the floors. A large table was centered in the space, full of cleaning materials and objects he’d expect to find in her storage.

He caught sight of a boom box, of all things, in one corner and chuckled. Sometimes, old habits died hard. Zeke didn’t want to snoop further, and turned toward the door when a familiar obsidian violet caught his attention.

Five weapons were arranged on a small table toward the back: two handguns, two daggers, and a throwing star. Sunlight glinted off all of them, and he picked up the split blade dagger to inspect it further. It was polished and clean, with no trace of fingerprints or dust.

The merjha handgun he’d pulled off the intruder had been teleported to his personal stores back home, awaiting destruction when he had a spare moment. Like every sovereign in the Quint Treaty, he’d agreed to it centuries ago—as had Nina.

To see multiple merjhas arranged here, clearly well-tended, made suspicion bloom deep within him. Marked with the notorious crescent moon symbol of the immortal black market, it was clear where they’d come from. What Nina was doing with them remained to be seen.

Zeke had had only limited interactions with the black market. The only times he’d been notified by his contacts was when business was conducted in his territory, and he’d been able to break it up before any transactions had gone through. The merjhas were the surviving trade of the market. For a long time, children had been the other.

Of the four immortal breeds, only Raeths had immortal biological offspring. Werewolf and Elemental children were born human. Vampires were infertile. As a result, Raeth culture idolized children. They were rare, precious, and valuable. Some people had viewed the black market as their only option to experience parenthood. Before the New Dominion rules came into power and abolished it, the practice had been a blight on their society.

The merjha blade glinted in his hands as he set it down. He slipped out of the armory with more questions than answers.

He quickly found himself in more familiar spaces. A hint of baked quiche wafted in the air, drawing him like a camel to water. He paused in the doorway, taking in the scene.

The kitchen was a sight to behold. Each surface gleamed with cleanliness, and there were handfuls of chocolates sitting in a decorative dish on the island. As expansive as it was expensive, the heart of the home was clearly well-loved.

Aidan leaned against the sprawling island with his brawny arms folded over his chest. Kaien’s features were etched with weariness, clearly the byproduct of his recent energy expenditures, but he offered Zeke a genuine smile.

Lucy, Aidan’s Elemental mate, flitted around the kitchen with the vitality of a toddler. Clearly fueled by fear of what’d happened in the past two days, her movements were as energetic as they were erratic. The youngling had keyed into the situation, and her frenetic efforts to feed them were merely consequences of her anxiety.

While she’d yet to notice his arrival, Aidan was glaring daggers at him, standoffish.

Before he could turn tail, Kaien cleared his throat. “You’re no good to my sister if you’re dead on your feet. Have a bite with us.”

Beside the counter, Lucy whipped her hands on her apron. “Oh, you’re here! Give me just a sec.”

The woman offered him a genial grin before turning to the oven and grabbing oven mitts to remove the bubbling quiche.

“Come on in, I promise Aidan won’t kill you while they’re waiting for food.” She purposefully bumped her hip into Aidan’s. “Will you, wolf?”

Aidan mouth tipped up ever so slightly. “Promise.”

Beaming, Lucy waved Zeke over and grabbed a plate for each of them. As she dished out the meal, the men stood in strained silence, not meeting each other’s eyes. He was barely two bites in before Lucy broke the silence.

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