Chapter 5 Zera
Zera
Zera scooped up a forkful of creamy pasta, blowing on it to cool it down before offering it to Cole.
He sat perched in his high chair, which she’d moved into his nursery to protect him from the heated debate in the kitchen, his eyes wide with anticipation and hunger as he waited for a bite of his favorite meal.
The soft, warm light from the butterfly lamp perched on his dresser bathed them both in its glow, creating a cozy and intimate atmosphere that Zera cherished.
“Here comes another bite,” she cooed, guiding the fork toward his open mouth.
He giggled with delight as he took a big bite, smacking his lips happily. Zera smiled at the pure joy on his face, feeling her heart swell with love for her little boy.
Feeding Cole was her favorite thing in the entire realm.
Sure, it was messy and tedious, and sometimes none of the food would get in his mouth, but these were the brief, blissful moments when she could forget about everything—her responsibilities, her fears, her doubts—while she focused on her son, who was growing up much too quickly.
As she continued to feed Cole, the heated discussion from the kitchen intruded on her peaceful bubble. Jade’s voice rose above the others, her tone sharp and argumentative.
“Absolutely not! It’s too dangerous.” Jade’s voice pierced through the open doorway, as if there weren’t a good distance between the kitchen table and the nursery, followed by Sloane’s calmer, firm tone. “Maverick, you can’t seriously expect—”
“Zera must go with me. There’s no other way,” Maverick said, his voice firm. “And Cole… He’ll be safer in Pixie Hollow.”
“So will she!” Jade snapped, but the undercurrent of concern in her voice was clear even through her frustration. “Look, I know we can’t just stay here waiting for this Gareth guy and whoever he’s working with to come here and catch us off guard. But why can’t Zera come with us?”
Her words were punctuated by her fist slamming against the table.
“Jade, please,” Sloane interjected. “I agree the situation is less than ideal, but we must keep calm in order to make a solid plan.”
“I won’t be making any plans before he gives us more answers. We don’t even know who he really is.”
“Who I am is irrelevant. The only thing that matters now is this,” Maverick said, his deep, commanding voice holding a note of authority that demanded attention.
“Now that Gareth knows about Zera and her powers, he will stop at nothing to capture her. Whoever was stupid enough to partner up with him has made him even more deadly than he was before. Anyone in his way will wind up dead.”
Zera’s heart clenched at the name—Gareth. The name itself felt like a cold hand closing around her throat. She could still hear the elf’s harsh whisper ringing in her ears. It was the voice of nightmares.
With every fiber of her being, she knew she had to face him, to protect Cole from the shadows that sought to ensnare their little family.
Gareth and whoever he was working for would never find out about her son, and she would make sure that whoever knew of her pixie dust wouldn’t live to breathe her secret to another living soul.
Even if that meant killing the wolf who got her into this mess in the first place.
Zera looked up from Cole, her eyes landing on Maverick, who lounged against the fridge next to the nursery’s doorway. His massive frame nearly blocked her view of Jade and Sloane taking up space around the kitchen table.
It would be a pity to kill him, but if she had to, she would do it. No one meant more to her than her son. A werewolf stranger with a nice face couldn’t change that.
Maverick’s eyes flicked to hers, an electric current humming between them. Something in the way he looked at her, like he was reading her from the inside out, made her shiver in anticipation. Shit. He really did have a nice face.
She jerked her attention back to her son, cursing her traitorous heart for the uptick in rhythm she knew Maverick heard.
“Then we’ll hide,” Jade said. “Like you said, we should be safe in Pixie Hollow. It’s not like anyone will go looking for Zera in the one place she’s not welcome anymore.”
Ouch. That stung. It was one thing to know she would never be able to go back to her homeland because of the lamest decision she’d ever made. Even if it had led her to create the best thing in her life—Cole. But it was so much worse hearing it spoken out loud by her half sister.
“Of course he’ll look for her there,” Maverick said with a sigh.
“It’s her last-known location, aside from this one.
He’ll know anywhere she’s been for the last ten years, and from what I can tell, the list isn’t very long.
He will come for her, he will find and kill his way to her, and if Cole is anything like his mother, then he’ll take him too. ”
Zera’s face hardened. Like hell she’d let anyone get to Cole.
“Right now, Zera is his only target. That and his intent to kill me,” Maverick continued. “And I intend to keep it that way. I only ask that you all trust me.”
“Trust you?” Jade scoffed. “We don’t even know you.”
“It’s the only way to keep everyone safe.” The tone of Maverick’s voice was calm, but Zera could sense the urgency. “I won’t let anything happen to her or her son.”
Zera gulped. For a faeboy, this werewolf seemed to care a lot.
Maybe it was merely a sense of obligation, but she pondered why he was going out of his way to help them.
Perhaps he was right. Maybe separating until the Gareth situation was handled would be best. She would do anything to keep her boy safe.
She gazed down at Cole, whose face was smeared with pasta sauce as he grinned up at her, blissfully unaware of the danger that loomed over them.
He held out his chubby little hands for another bite.
“Of course, baby,” she replied, swallowing the lump in her throat as she spooned up more food for him.
As much as she yearned to keep Cole safe, the thought of leaving him behind shattered her heart. But she couldn’t let her fear get in the way of what she knew she needed to do.
She hated the idea of working with a werewolf, especially an arrogant faeboy spy, but deep down, she knew it was the best chance she had to protect her son.
With her mind made up, she placed the spoon on Cole’s empty plate.
“Give Mommy a minute, okay?” She leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead, inhaling the sweet scent of the shampoo that still lingered in his full head of brown curls. “I love you more than anything in this realm, Cole. You know that, right?”
Her little one responded with muffled coos, his mouth still full.
“Promise me,” she choked out, her eyes filling with tears. “Promise me you’ll be brave and strong and, no matter what happens, know that Auntie Jade and Aunt Sloane got you, okay?”
Cole’s tiny brow furrowed for a second, but he nodded as he shoved the spoon of food back into his mouth. Whether it was a nod because he understood her or was just exploring his neck muscles, it didn’t matter. To her, it meant he knew, and that was all that mattered.
“Good.” She gave him one more kiss on the top of his head before, reluctantly, she pulled away. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
He gave her a toothy grin and waved his free hand, oblivious to the weight of her decision.
Steeling herself, she rose and stepped lightly across the room, pausing at the door that separated her from the argument so she could keep a watchful eye on Cole.
“Enough,” Zera declared as she entered the kitchen, her voice steady despite the tremor in her soul. Jade and Sloane turned to her, their expressions a blend of relief and dread. Maverick stood near her like a dark sentinel, his piercing eyes locking on to hers.
“I will go with Maverick.”
Jade rose from her chair to protest, but Zera raised her hand. “Let me finish. I’ll go with him like he suggests while you and Sloane go back to Pixie Hollow with Cole. Maverick’s right that it’s the only way to ensure my son’s safety. I won’t put him in any more danger.”
“But you’ll be going with a total stranger,” Jade declared for the umpteenth time, heat rushing to her cheeks. “For all we know, he could be leading you straight to the fae who’s trying to steal your pixie dust, and then Cole will be left motherless.”
“This total stranger saved our lives,” Zera said, surprising even herself by standing up for a werewolf.
“As much as I hate to admit it, trusting Maverick is the only way to ensure Cole doesn’t end up without me.
Besides, I’d imagine a mission like this shouldn’t take us more than three, four days tops. Right?”
Maverick shrugged. “I won’t promise and underdeliver but maybe a week or two. As long as there are no unforeseen complications.”
Zera drew in a deep breath and nodded. One to two weeks. She could do that, right?
She shook off the dread that threatened to take control of her.
She didn’t have time for her anxiety. There was no other choice but to move forward.
“See? A week or two isn’t so bad. Especially if it means we’re all safe and reunited at the end of this.
And if you need to reach me, I’ll have my faestone. ”
Maverick cleared his throat, gaining her attention. “Unfortunately, you won’t. We have to assume our devices have been compromised, since I’m guessing they were both present at the restaurant.”
Zera bit her lip, not liking the sound of where this was going.
“We’ll all need to get rid of them before we leave.”
She swallowed hard and shot a look of concern to Jade and Sloane, who both shared the expression she imagined was etched into her face.
“But then how will we know…” Sloane let the question hang in the air.
An awkward silence fell over the room.
“Don’t worry,” Maverick reassured them. “Our first takes will be tracking down untraceable faestones and shipping them to whatever location you all decide on.”
“Aren’t those incredibly illegal?” Jade asked, her eyes widening.