48. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Jax
As the weeks passed, Jax had begun to feel more at home on the island—and in his own skin. Routine scouting missions had helped him find his feet, and he’d spent a good amount of time with Aidan learning how to hunt and fight in his four-legged form.
After a lifetime in the military, the change of pace had been welcome.
The morning had brought with it rainy weather that’d made for a soggy run, but a warm shower afterward had helped. Calling out a greeting to Nero and Eden, he went upstairs to where Key lay. Daily visits helped take the edge off his wolf’s anxiety, and he’d spent nearly every other night here with her.
Last week, Nero had jokingly put an oversized dog bed and bowl of treats in one corner. The Raeth had laughed about it for hours afterward. It seemed the other man had finally started to believe that Key could wake up.
Jax held out hope.
The sound of quiet humming emitted from Key’s room. An ancient lullaby he’d heard numerous times before. Luna stood, taking the sleeping woman’s stats, as she swayed slightly to the melody.
“Morning, Luna,” he greeted.
A warm smile was his reply. The healer quickly finished logging notes, then began the transfer of energy to Key through clan bonds, as she had every day since Derikles had discovered its efficacity. During these sessions, Luna would often tell Jax how his mate was doing—and today was no different.
“Her psychic reservoir is almost full,” the healer said.
“That’s wonderful news.”
Luna nodded. “I’ve hope she’ll wake, but we have to be aware of the fact that her injury was not the same as Isaiah’s and Nina’s. Whereas they experienced a psychic recoil—a kickback from their gifts—her trauma was related more to the breaking of the Link and the echo of their destructive power.”
It was the same warning she’d given him time and time again.
Luna and Nero had both examined Key in the aftermath and agreed that what she’d experienced wasn’t a recoil or energy drought. The Link she’d created to bridge the Reaper’s abilities had shattered, tearing through her with a viciousness that caused her heart to stop. That, coupled with the continual drain on her reserves over the course of a thousand years, had caused Key’s mind to go into a state of prolonged psychic shock.
There was no telling whether Key—or her abilities—would recover.
“All we can do is hope, Luna,” Jax finally said. “You’ve given her a fighting chance and done everything in your power to heal her. If she was awake right now, you know she’d say the same thing.”
Luna had taken Key’s injury hard, hating the fact that she’d been unable to do more. In the weeks since, she’d been strong for everyone, including Jax.
“You’re a good man, Jax. I’m happy you’ve found your way to one another.”
The healer departed not long after that, leaving him with Key. Though he knew that Key wasn’t fully aware, he’d taken the liberty of bringing a television into the room. Flipping it on, he pulled up the latest Hallmark movie he’d found and hit play. As the story developed, he led a one-sided conversation with Key about the tropes he saw, and what they were doing when there wasn’t any dialogue.
They weren’t even halfway through the first act before a tentative knock sounded on the door. Eden poked her head in. “You gotta second?”
“Sure.”
Slipping out, he followed Eden downstairs to where a few people waited in the living room. Eden introduced him to Toni and Lucy, two Elementals, and Nero wagged his eyebrows. “You ready for this, Jax?”
“Dare I ask for what?”
Eden took the lead. “Toni, Lucy, and I would like to bring you on as a consultant. The three of us—and Nero—are discussing the ramifications of revealing the supernatural community to the humans.”
Immediately, Jax’s mind started churning. “You mean to tell humanity that we exist? Wasn’t that exactly what Key was trying to prevent?”
“Yes—in a sense,” Lucy said. “But this won’t be the Citizens’ bias and ignorance exposing us as villains. This would be a calculated, logical approach, with a focus on peace between our kinds.”
“Think about it. The humans will continue to find out about immortals. With the increase in technology, it’s only a matter of time before something happens and we’re caught red handed.” Nero shrugged. “It may be in our best interest to pre-empt that version of our future.”
Thoughts bombarded Jax as he thought about the possible outcomes of what they were proposing. If they did reveal who and what they were to the greater human populace, there may be portions of them that’d be supportive. Just as likely would be those who immediately took their existence as a threat.
“We’d need a way to ensure humans wouldn’t be threatened,” he said. “We’re scary, unknown, and stronger than they are. We have to offset that somehow. If we go big, offer them something, we could sway public opinion toward our cause. What do we do for them that’s an improvement? How can we help them?”
“Raeth healers,” Nero said.
“Vampire blood cures almost everything,” Toni added.
Lucy nodded. “And our Elemental search and rescue teams already have contributed during countless disasters.”
“We would need to show them exactly what we’ve done—and will keep doing—in order to keep fear from spreading.” Jax crossed his arms. “Who else knows what we’re planning?”
“The Peace Accords leaders are all in agreement,” Nero answered, “but we have no way of knowing if this is the right course …”
“Unless Key wakes up,” Jax finished. “Unless she has foresight once more.”
“We would also need to be prepared for those who ask for immortality,” Toni said quietly. “Though Elementals and Raeths would be spared, vampires and werewolves might be inundated with requests.”
Jax nodded. “It might go a long way to showing our benevolence if we accepted some of those requests—those that would save lives, for example. We’d need a way to sort through them—only choose the ones who’d adapt well to immortal life.”
It was impossible to predict, but absolutely understandable. People dying of terminal illnesses or enticed by the thought of immortality would come to them in droves. Parents striving for their children to be saved, asking for miracles, or begging for a cure: they would have to be prepared for it all.
The endless questions continued to pile up, and each of them were struck silent in the minutes that followed. Pursuing this path meant diverging from what’d kept them alive for millennia, but if they didn’t adapt, their secret might be their undoing.
For the first time since Key had fallen, Jax had found something that he could fully dedicate himself to. Aidan had charged him with finding his own niche and responsibilities, and this seemed the perfect fit.
As he looked around at those who surrounded him, he couldn’t imagine a better group to lead this project. Every single one of them—except Nero—had once been human.
Eden’s smile was slow but breathtaking. “I have an idea.”
***
“We would have to be selective about who we accepted,” Aidan said several hours later, as they sat in Key’s living room. “Those who are bitten don’t always have the strength to fully turn.”
Jax chuckled, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “I might’ve thought twice about getting myself bitten if I’d known that.”
“What you don’t know and all that.”
Studying the other man, Jax asked, “Do you think coming out to the general public is a good idea?”
The alpha became contemplative, steepling his hands above his knees. For a man who was twelve hundred years old, changing the status quo would be a massive shift. For Jax, whose immortality was so new, adapting would be easier. It was something to remember for the masses of supernaturals who’d have to adjust to the scenario.
“I think it’s worth discussing. What Remmus said about technology is true. It’s only a matter of time before something reveals our supernatural nature.” The wolf appeared behind his eyes. “If that revelation is on our terms, then we’d be better suited to controlling the message.”
“And those who’d ask to become one of us?”
“Obviously, pack children are always going to be the first in line,” Aidan replied, “but extending the offer to those who’d want immortality would be a good way to get the public on our side. There will always be those who reach for the promise of eternity.”
“We’d simply have to be selective about who was chosen,” Jax confirmed.
“Yep.” The trace of humor in Aidan’s voice made Jax frown. “Can’t have any old joe off the street join the ranks.”
“To be fair, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.”
“Says the man in love with his mate.” Aidan shrugged. “Happens to the best of us.”
As Jax’s thoughts turned to the woman who had his heart, he sobered. Being here without her seemed the greatest sin. He missed her—and would continue missing her until he saw her staring back at him once more.
“Try something for me, Jax.”
“What?”
“Tonight, when you’re curled up next to her,” the other alpha said, “try reaching out through your mating bond. Luna said Key’s almost fully recovered right? She might just need a guide to get her back.”
***
That night, Jax couldn’t resist the allure of sleeping in the same room as Key. The queen bed was big enough for them both, and he perched beside where she slept.
He wove his fingers through hers. Key had lost a considerable amount of weight, but she didn’t look emaciated, just as though she’d missed a few too many meals. Knowing that Zia, Jaeda, and the rest of her clan had been taking care of her made Jax’s heart hurt less.
Jax was going to do everything in his power to help her.
Gently, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand and shut his eyes. “Key, I know you’re in there, and I have to believe that you can hear me.”
As expected, she didn’t stir, so he kept talking. “I’ve been informed that we’re mates. And apparently, we’re going to have all of eternity ahead of us should you decide to quit napping. So, knowing you, I figured you’d want to get a jump on planning for the inevitable.”
Jax tightened his grip around her fingers. Though he’d been assured there was an entire mental landscape waiting for him, all he saw was the backs of his eyelids. Feeling ridiculous, he reached out into the darkness surrounding them. Still unsure this was anything but a farce, he searched for the mating bond that connected them.
If there was any chance he could find Key in the darkness, he had to try.
Driven onward by the slimmest of hopes, Jax searched inwardly for a connection he’d forged with Key. Nero had confirmed that their bond was alive, but the Raeth couldn’t locate it without the proper link having manifested.
The longer he searched, the more pessimistic he became. After an hour of fruitless hunting, he was ready to throw up his hands.
His wolf snarled, long and low. In his quest for Key, Jax had nearly forgotten him. The animal paced relentlessly in the back of his mind.
Jax paused.
The beast, it seemed, had known of Key’s importance to him long before he did. If he released the second half of his soul to its own instincts, the wolf might be able to find the bond like a bloodhound found a trail.
As soon as he called him forth, the wolf vanished. Instead of wandering around the mental landscape as Jax had done, the animal began to pull on a sore spot near his heart. It was immediately uncomfortable, but before he could chase away the feeling, a thread of connection shimmered into existence.
The impact of it lurched through him, and the bed wobbled. Eyes opening immediately, he swayed momentarily before he righted himself.
Key’s presence was warm inside him, a blinding light that illuminated every aspect of Jax’s soul and eclipsed any shred of doubt he still held. He felt every beat of her heart, every thread of her being.
It was as though he’d found a piece of his soul inside hers.
Key hadn’t simply known he was her mate; she’d opened the door for their matehood and left it open. She’d done it so that when he did find her, their mating could formalize the moment he opened himself to her.