Page 49 of Upon Shattered Bonds

Zeke was a good man. There was no doubt in her mind that if he had known before, he would’ve taken Luther’s business apart, piece by piece, until nothing remained. He would’ve hunted down every scrap of weaponry and found every child who’d been lost. He was honorable to a fault, and Nina couldn’t believe this was the first time she had seen it.

“When I found out, I killed Luther,” she whispered against his chest. “His sovereignty went to me, but I immediately exiled everyone from his clan. All forty-eight of his clansmen were involved in his illegal trading, and I couldn’t stand to have them poison my clan.”

“It’s the only thing you could’ve done.”

Nina said nothing. The memories of that day were still fresh in her mind, bitter and blood spattered.

Luther had been charming and sympathetic. When he’d taken an interest, she’d been flattered. Very few Raeths would ever cross the line into a relationship with a woman who’d already established a mating bond with her fated mate. Luther was one of the few who did so, and willingly.

It’d been an isolating time in her life, and Nina had been yearning for companionship. Looking back on it now, her being lonely always made for poor decisions.

"After we’d been together for several months, I came into possession of a merjha dagger,” she continued. “I made the mistake of mentioning it to him, and he immediately offered to take it off my hands. Luther’s clan had a Forger, and with her abilities, it was easy for her to melt it down.”

“So you gave the dagger to him.”

“I gave it to him.”

His arms tightened around her, and his cheek came to rest against her forehead. “It wasn’t your fault, Nina.”

“It wasn’t just that dagger,” she finally admitted. “I gave him all the merjhas I came across. There had to have been thirty or more that I ended up giving him in the decades we were together.”

“You can’t blame yourself.” The honesty rang loud and clear in his voice—and funneled down their mating bond. “Luther was a criminal, and he was very good at what he did.”

She shivered. Zeke didn’t even know the half of it—but revealing that would mean the end of this, and she wasn’t ready for him to leave her. Though she knew it was dishonest, she kept from him what she’d ultimately meant to reveal.

"When you won Luther’s clan, how did your people react?”

It went unsaid: the merging of two clans resulted in a psychic tidal wave, washing through every clansman who was tethered to the sovereign. The effects weren’t damaging, but they were unavoidable. When it had happened, she’d given only limited information to the Quint Treaty sovereigns.

“My clansmen were confused—none more so than Kaien,” she said. “He didn’t appreciate the fact that I’d kept it from him, especially when my life had been at stake.”

“I can imagine.”

Nina chuckled, but it didn’t release the tension in her shoulders.

“What happened with Luther’s ex-clansmen afterward?”

“Kaien and I—with Nero’s help—hunted down some of the loose ends, but most of them had already gone into hiding or assimilated with other clans. Traka, Luther’s second, went to Demetrios’ clan, as did his two lieutenants.”

“Could they be the ones who’re out for your blood?”

“The only one linked to Demetrios is Rhonnen,” she mused. “Liam and the three who attacked your clan were from different clans.”

Her head spun as she tried to piece it together. Zeke’s presence burned into her where he held her tight, his delicious aroma making her mouth water. She barely repressed a shudder as he offered her his wrist.

“Drink, Nina.”

Even after she’d admitted her involvement in the black market, his only desire was to care for her. She shivered at the thought, a chill racing over her skin. Desire, hot and needy, shivered from her toes up. Her canines lengthened in anticipation, unbidden.

Before she could think better of it, she gently claimed his wrist, pulling it toward her. Zeke let her, merely watching her with that keen gaze that seemed to strip her soul bare. She turned it over to display his palm, and affectionately pressed her lips into the beating pulse below his skin.

Chapter Twenty-One

Zeke’s pulse pounded in his ears, heated blood crashing through his veins. Years of patience kept him obediently still, waiting to see what Nina would do. As her lips kissed the sensitized flesh of his wrist, he barely repressed the urge to moan.

After so long without her, he could appreciate the closeness she afforded him now—even if it’d end once her life was no longer at stake.

The problem was that Zeke didn’t know if he could go back to the way things were before this had happened. He’d lived his life to the best of his ability, locking up his feelings for his mate in a box at the back of his mind. Now that he’d experienced a taste of what that meant, every moment without Nina would be torture.

---