Page 108 of Walking in Darkness

Gaura sipped it, then smiled. “Very nice. Why don’t we have a seat?”

Hudson closed his eyes briefly, then quickly opened them. “I apologize. My manners seem to have abandoned me,and I have not treated you with the respect you deserve as my deity. Forgive me.”

Gaura patted Hudson on the cheek. “There is nothing to forgive. Your manners have always been exceptional, my dear, but I have startled you. And your bonded mates.” Gaura hooked their arm through Hudson’s and let Hudson walk them to the love seat.

Kit and Connie followed them. After Hudson got Gaura settled, he joined his mates on the couch.

“I have so many questions,” Hudson said.

“I’m sure you do. Some I will not answer because the time is not right. But some I will. And I imagine your most pressing one is why. Why was there no soul bond between you and Connie?”

“Not that I would ever question your will—”

Gaura raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, yes, I am questioning your will,” Hudson admitted. “Forgive me, but do you have any idea of the pain you caused by doing that?”

Connie shifted uncomfortably next to Kit. Really, questioning your deity probably wasn’t a good idea, especially in that tone of voice. Gaura could probably annihilate Hudson with a thought.

Kit clasped his mates’ hands.

Gaura followed the movement and then smiled. “There. That right there is your answer.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT – CONNIE

“I DON’T understand.” Connie looked at his fingers entwined with Kit’s.

“As I said, there are certain things I cannot tell you because your future is not set in stone. The choices you make daily dictate your path. And yes, I knew what the two of you felt for each other.”

“Then why?” Hudson asked quietly. “Why would you do that to us?”

It hurt to hear the pain in Hudson’s voice.

“Tell me truly, Hudson. If there had been a soul bond between you and Connie, would you have been on the lookout for your third? Or would it have blinded you to the possibility of your third?”

Hudson opened his mouth, then closed it.

“Exactly. Kit is very important in your life and Connie’s. He also has a role in the drama that has yet to play out with Lennox and Nox, a drama that dates back hundreds of years.”

“Again, I don’t understand,” Connie said.

“Things are still developing, but Kit and his family are also involved in this, just as Axel was. And there are others who have yet to make an appearance who will also figure prominently.”

Kit rubbed his temples. “Fate. You’re talking about Fate.”

“Yes, Fate. And every action builds on the other. But I digress. Same question, Connie. Would you have been open to a third if there had been a soul bond between you and Hudson?”

Connie honestly didn’t know how to answer that. He’d been obsessed with Hudson for a long time, and he’d resented the fact that there hadn’t been a bond between them.

But if there had been? If a third had appeared, would he have been open to accepting that person? He honestly couldn’t say. Actually, yes, he could. The answer was no.

Even Hudson had hinted at that when he’d first met Kit—Hudson had been very clear that he didn’t want a mate unless it was Connie.

“Connie may be your subordinate, Hudson, but he is a powerful dragon in his own right. He is also young. You are what? Around four hundred years older?”

“Yes, but what has that got to do with anything?” Hudson asked.

“Haven’t you felt behind the times more than once? Haven’t you complained about this modern age? And its language? And how people rush around without taking the time to enjoy life? Even Connie calls you old man.”

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