Page 41 of Upon Shattered Bonds

The truth of what came next was even more unsettling, but he wasn’t the one to voice it.

If she was challenged and her challenger won, the sovereignty would be awarded to her murderer. If she died as the result of an assassination—or her heart abruptly gave out—her people would become clanless. Once someone was a sovereign, there was no way out of it but death.

“The Nina I know would never give up so easily,” Aidan’s broad arms were crossed over his chest. “Are you so ready to sacrifice yourself? It’s not just your life you’re playing with.”

Tension pinged through the room. Beside the werewolf, Lucy shifted anxiously from one foot to the other, while both vampires exchanged a look. A flare of anger soared through the mating bond, and it was mirrored on Nina’s face.

“Tell me, then, what I should do, Aidan? What best case scenario have I failed to see?”

She shook her head, continuing, “If I take my chances against any challenger, there is only one of two options: one, I win and go into recoil. Then, my heart gives out and my clan is thrown into turmoil with no sovereign. Or two, I die, and my clan is then governed by someone currently scheming for my death behind the scenes like a coward. What exactly do you suggest, wolf?”

“Fight!” The beast beneath Aidan’s skin stalked through his eyes. “Don’t take this lying down! Someone has deemed you a threat and you’re just rolling over!”

For a moment, Nina was silent after Aidan roared, leaving him to begin pacing the room. Every step slapped against the floor, a rumbling growl wavering in his chest. A part of Zeke’s own inner predator rose up to greet Aidan’s, ready to leap in at a second’s notice to defend his mate should he need to.

“I’m so tired, Aidan,” she whispered. “Every step I take my knees feel like they’re going to give out. When I move, it feels like my heart is splitting in half. I feel like I can barely lift my sword.”

Aidan froze.

For her, admitting her weakness showed just how far she’d gone and how much pain she was in but didn’t let on. Unbidden, Zeke pulled her into his arms, every silent shudder of her body knifing into him as if her pain were his own. Nothing about this was fair, and he hated the fact that he was forced to watch it take her spirit.

There was almost nothing he wouldn’t do to keep her safe. He would burn the world for her, plunge it into war, steal her away and leave it all behind … but Nina would never dignify any of these scenarios as solutions. And he couldn’t take the disappointment he would see in her eyes if he proposed them.

When her head nestled into the nook under his chin, he rested his head atop her hers and sighed. Aidan scrubbed a hand over his face, but he’d retreated to his mate’s side, his body leaned into hers. On the other hand, Kaien had turned away, Blair unconsciously shielding his sister from his sight.

Drake was the only one who met Zeke’s gaze. In that instant, he knew that the vampire had connected the dots—that whatever happened to Nina would eventually reverberate onto him.

With a sharp shake of his head, Zeke killed the question before it could be voiced. It would have undoubtedly tinged the conversation with yet another problem that couldn’t be solved.

The truth of it remained. Should Nina fall, the mating bond between them would sever like it had when she’d been shot. While they hadn’t finalized their mating bond—yet—even the most resolute of Raeth males found it nearly impossible to endure after their mates died.

Zeke had felt the depth of his own despair when her heart had stopped—and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he followed her into the clutches of death. Perhaps Tzuriel would entertain taking his place as sovereign.

The thought died when Mere appeared moments later.

Though he didn’t look any worse for wear, he passed a hand through his hair and grunted, clearly perturbed. When he caught sight of Nina, he balked.

“Sovereign?”

Stealing a breath against Zeke’s shirt, Nina straightened. “What have you discovered?”

Though her voice no longer held an edge of exasperation, the fatigue remained. She pressed a hand against Zeke’s chest to right herself, but he kept an arm possessively cinched around her waist.

The delicate touch of her hand against him felt affectionate, like she, too, was appreciating the closeness. He savored that thought, however outrageous, in the quietness of his own mind.

Mere addressed Zeke. “The attacks on your territory were perpetrated by two members of the Grant clan and one from the Zayan clan. I don’t know their names but could identify them on sight.”

“The mystery deepens,” came Zeke’s reply. “Most appreciated, Mere.”

Straightening beside him, Nina’s hand dropped away from Zeke’s chest. “It’s a tenuous time. With the assassination attempt and the challenges—and the attacks on your territory, Zeke, it suggests an ulterior motive.” She paused then lifted her chin. “We need to convene the Quint Treaty sovereigns, Zeke. We have to tell them what happened.”

Zeke nodded. “Perhaps the other sovereigns have experienced similar attacks.”

“Or have heard whispers of the reason behind them,” Aidan added.

When Zeke refocused on Nina, he stilled. Everything about her spoke to resistance, untenable resolve shifting behind the crystal blue of her eyes. Reaching out telepathically, she opened a line to him immediately.

Not caring that he was excluding the rest of the room, he asked, You don’t want to speak with them?

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