Chapter 21 Zane
Zane
Emotions were not my strong suit. I tried not to have them; it made my life easier.
Until Raven appeared, steering clear of them had been pretty damn easy.
Sex I could do. Anger, lust, and fear were my bread and butter. I fed on all three regularly, without guilt. Everyone wanted the incubus at their parties, feeding them lust and helping them get laid.
They tended not to like it when I stoked their anger or gave them nightmares, but being a selfish incubus, I didn’t much care.
Nobody else cared about me, not since the council executed my father, so I’d learned to take care of myself. Yes, my maternal grandparents made sure I didn’t starve, but they feared me. Or rather, they feared what I would become.
And they sure as fuck didn’t want me back on pack lands anytime soon.
No winter solstice invitation for me.
Nope.
Not that I cared. I was happy to spend my free time alone. Hanging out at sex clubs. Dealing with pesky demons.
At least that had been my plan until I met Raven and realized she was my soul-bonded mate.
I hadn’t wanted the bond at first. Too risky. Not with the Supernatural Council watching me to make sure I didn’t turn into my father. They knew he’d gone insane after losing Mom, so if I found a soul-bond, it was only natural to assume the same thing might happen to me.
Nobody wanted another insane incubus on the loose, causing carnage.
I’d planned to have fun with the witch, see where things went before committing. But entering her dream last night had thrown my plans out the window. The mate bond was too hard to ignore.
I’d given in to temptation and paid the price.
The second the bond clicked into place, reality hit me hard.
Bonding with the witch would shine a light on her. Bring attention she didn’t need. There were too many questions surrounding her abilities, and I had a feeling we’d only scraped the surface of what she could do, magically speaking.
Raven was no ordinary witch. That much was obvious, even if she didn’t see it herself.
“Why have you dragged me away?” The witch yanked her hand away and looked around the clearing. Snow fell in thick, wet flakes. Our exhales condensed into steam in the frigid air, but I needed to talk to her away from the others.
Care bear had completely lost his shit last night when the human shot Raven. If the vanilla popsicle hadn’t zapped the stupid bitch, the bear would have gutted her. It was just as well I’d got there in time to blink the witch and the mage away.
I’d left him healing the witch while I dealt with the human and her friend.
I considered it a two-for-one deal. Two corpses were just as easy to dispose of as one.
Luckily for me, with it being a cutesy small town, there were no CCTV cameras.
Even better, the two idiots who fucked with my witch were tourists passing through, not locals.
It wasn’t a stretch to fake a horrible accident in the middle of a lightning storm.
Tourist tragically hit by lightning. Boyfriend drops dead from shock.
I may have shed a tear.
Raven tapped her foot, waiting for me to reply.
“It’s a small cabin, and I wanted some privacy.”
“Privacy?” Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I’m not having sex out here in the snow.”
A chuckle escaped. “I like the way you think, pet, but no sex. Not right now anyway.”
“Then what? It’s cold, Zane. And you’ve acted weird ever since we shared a sex dream. I’m not sure what to think about that. Are you regretting our dream tryst?”
She shuffled on the spot while her teeth chattered. Shit. I really sucked at caring for my toys. It was just as well she had care bear looking after her needs.
I scrubbed my jaw while trying to think of how best to explain my concerns. The last thing I wanted to do was scare my pet, but she needed to be aware of the risks involved in being my mate.
“Do you know what happened to my father?”
Her eyes softened as she nodded. “Yes. Glynda told me.”
“Because of what my father did, the Supernatural Council keeps a close eye on me. They’re afraid I might lose my mind like he did, and with my powers, it would be disastrous.”
Raven’s nose scrunched in confusion. “Your mom dying affected your father, so why would the same thing happen to you? That’s ridiculous.”
“Mom and Dad were soul-bonded. When a soul-bonded partner dies, it can cause the one left behind to suffer a mental breakdown. Not always, but the closer the bond, the harder the loss is to bear. My parents were very close. From the moment they met, my father never fed on another living person again. She was his everything, and he hers.”
I watched Raven’s face as my words sank in.
Was it any wonder my dad couldn’t cope? It might not have been so bad if Mom had died of old age. But to lose her in a senseless accident had been too much for him. He started unraveling the minute he got the news she’d died, and I was there to witness it all.
“Zane…I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t need your sympathy, pet. That’s not why I’m telling you my sad story.”
“Then why? I don’t understand.”
“I’m telling you because once the council learns you’re my soul-bonded mate, they will watch you and me like hawks.
Tiberius Vane does not want a repeat of what happened with my father.
He’s already warned me that my life is forfeit if I show any signs of mental instability.
” Fucking idiot. I’d love to see him try to take me out.
“But that’s…insane!”
“Yes, but in their eyes, I am the insane one, and they reserve the right to lock me up on that basis.”
“You’re a little crazy.” She smirked. “But you’re not a psycho!”
She had no fucking idea, but I wasn’t about to show her my crazy. Not yet anyway.
“I understand if you don’t want to be bonded to me.” She plucked at her jacket and laughed self-deprecatingly. “I’m hardly a catch.”
What the fuck was she on about? Had she not listened to a word I’d said? I wasn’t rejecting the bond. I was worried the mages would imprison me and steal her away while they put me on trial.
Maverick was a strong mate, the strongest shifter I’d met in a long time, but he wasn’t powerful enough to stand against the entire Mage Council. And as for the vanilla popsicle, he’d melt under pressure like an ice cream left out in the sun.
I didn’t even bother considering fish boy. He lacked the balls to complete the bond with our mate, and the vampire, while he’d make a formidable foe, might be dead by now.
As Raven shivered in the biting wind, I pushed my unease aside. Seeing her injured had crystallized my feelings. I wasn’t used to feeling anything, but Raven’s chaotic emotions had flooded our bond as soon as it locked into place. Every random thought she had filtered through my mind.
Maverick’s thoughts too, mostly when he got annoyed. Although I suspected he deliberately broadcast his feelings about my completing the bond. He’d made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t happy when Raven and I woke up.
I rallied my thoughts, thinking about how best to make the witch understand I wanted her despite my concerns.
“I’m not good with emotional stuff,” I began. She snorted. “But make no mistake, I want you, and I am proud you’re my mate.”
“You are?” Tears sparkled like tiny frozen diamonds on her pale cheeks, and I realized how fucking cold she was. Fuck, the bear would murder me if she died from hypothermia.
“I am. Now let’s go back to the cabin before the bear tears my head off and pisses in the hole.”