Page 44 of Upon Shattered Bonds

The wolf straightened, his hand grasping his young mate’s where she stood beside him. Lucy melted into Aidan’s closeness, her head resting against his chest. But Zeke acknowledged the gesture wasn’t for her benefit—it was for Aidan’s.

He could recognize it now that he’d spent more time with Nina. The act of physical touch between mates, whether given or received, soothed a part of the soul. In the centuries he’d been separated from Nina, he’d yearned for it, but had never truly understood what it meant. Nina’s touch, the way her fingertips were gently trailing along the taut muscle of his forearm, was far more comforting than any word or gift. It was essential.

“Go to my territory,” she asked of Aidan. “If it’s attacked in the wake of this coup, our children will be vulnerable.”

“And leave you?” Incredulous, Aidan sniffed. “Forget it.”

“Please, Aidan. You can do no good here.” Then, under her breath, she added, “You can’t protect someone who’s already dead.”

When the werewolf alpha opened his mouth to counter, Nina simply nodded at Mere, and the three of them disappeared from the room. Her lieutenant had teleported all three of them back to clan lands. None of it surprised Zeke, who already knew the depth of her resolve.

The reason behind it had become clear as day: she didn’t want Aidan to see her die.

Nina bowed her head a second later. He could almost hear the thoughts running through her mind, the remorse over what might be her last interaction with her brother. Hating the fact that she’d been forced to make the decision, Zeke curled an arm about her waist and pressed a kiss into her temple.

Kaien chuckled darkly, the sound was both haughty and threatening. “If you send me away, Nina, I’ll teleport back, chain you up in the basement, and disclose your secret to all: that you play Final Fantasy Seven in your free time.”

“Not much of a secret if you’ve already told everyone,” she hummed, the sound tired. She peered over at the vampire and his Elemental wife. “Drake. Toni.”

“Don’t you dare.” The low, vitriolic words from her fledgling were deadly serious. “Don’t you dare send us away!”

But Nina did just that. Before either of them could speak another word in protest, the married couple vanished. Remote teleports for a sovereign were like child’s play, but given Nina’s condition, it’d translated to a weariness that Zeke could feel through their bond.

In response, he pushed psychic energy into her, easing off when the tension in Nina’s shoulders ebbed.

“You aren’t fooling anyone, Zeke.” She looked at him with an expression equal parts mirth and suspicion. “Not that I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth, but the least you could do is take a girl to dinner first.”

“Does one count being dinner?” came his quip, the corners of his mouth tugging upward. “If so, I think I’ve rather covered my bases on that front.”

“I’ll let it slip,” Nina answered with a wink. She tipped her chin up and to the side, studying him. “I didn’t know you were an Amp.”

“And you failed to mention that you’re a Spark,” he replied. “What other gifts have you kept from me?”

Nina shrugged; the gesture resigned but amicable. “I’m destruction, Zeke; very few people want to know what I can do. Besides the Spark and my ability with Voice, the final gift in my ensemble isn’t pretty. I’m a Reaper. I only need to push past psychic boundaries to crush a mind.”

Voice was an exceptionally powerful—and rare—gift. When used, the spoken Voice was irresistible, commanding a person or immortal to obey without any form of resistance. Even those with the strongest of shields couldn’t resist. A vampire’s suggestion was a watered-down version of her ability.

The Reaper ability, in any of its forms, was deadly. Though it could take different shapes and manifest differently in anyone who had the destructive gift, the end result was always the same: death.

He nodded, dour with the news. Seeing as she’d given him a token of her spirit, he yielded the information he’d kept so tightly to his chest. “I’m an Amp and a Blunt, as you know. But I also have the ability to function as a Mirror.”

Nina quickly got past the initial shock and offered him an admirative half smile. “No wonder Ezra and Asim never wanted to meet you on the field of battle. You’re like a one-man army.”

“No one is infallible.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Leaning in, his thumb gently caressed the line of her chin. Almost absently, she leaned into the contact and sighed.

“Zeke and I are going to meet with the other Quint Treaty sovereigns, Kaien,” she said. “Can you wait here for us to return?”

Softening, her twin nodded. “Take care of my sister, Zeke. I’ll skin you if something should happen to her.”

“An apt punishment.”

Standing, Zeke offered Nina his hand. When the warmth of her palm connected with his, a jolt of sensation fired through him. Desire treacherously heated, stirring in his gut, but he clamped down on the sensation before their bond could betray him.

“Ready?”

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