Chapter 11 Zera #3
This was no coincidence, and the sudden gut feeling within her that was too foreign to be her own confirmed that he thought so too. But why hadn’t he said anything? And why did he seem as surprised as she was?
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she’d only imagined it. “Again,” she said with a firm nod when he looked like he was going to suggest a break.
Her breath was ragged, her muscles sore from repetitive movements, but she pushed through it, determined to prove to herself she could do it.
But more importantly, despite the fear and doubt, she wouldn’t back down.
She would face this and whatever else came her way, for her son, for herself, and for her future.
Zera dodged one of his strikes but only by a second.
Lucky, she thought.
You’re skilled, a voice whispered in response.
“What did you say?” she asked and frowned at Maverick, who mirrored her expression.
“I didn’t say anything,” he said, sending another round of punches her way, each one faster than the next. She was getting better at not getting hit.
“But I heard you,” she pushed back, her voice rising in frustration.
“I swear, Zera, I didn’t say anything,” Maverick insisted, his eyes wide with sincerity.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as they both tried to understand what was happening.
“You didn’t just say ‘you’re skilled’?” she asked, her voice growing weak at the thought of the alternative. What if he hadn’t said it out loud but he was now in her head?
She’d heard rumors of deep connections made between fae that allowed mates to communicate through their bond. They were common among werewolves, dragons, and other shape-shifters. Sometimes among vampires, but that was less common, and never, ever with elementals like pixies.
All humor drained from Maverick’s face, his jaw clenched as if he was holding back something. “No, Zera, I didn’t say that.”
Something in his tone conveyed there was something else, but the look in Maverick’s eyes told her he was done with the conversation.
“But…” She trailed off.
“Enough.” Maverick dropped his stance. “We’re both tired. Let’s call it a day on the training front, okay?”
Zera’s frustration bubbled to the surface.
He was avoiding what had just happened, what she’d heard in her mind.
It hadn’t been her voice, and if she could hear his thoughts, then that meant something.
This realization made her even angrier, though a part of her was intrigued by it.
As much as she wouldn’t mind the idea of a romp in the sheets with this broodingly handsome spy, the idea of being tied to an arrogant faeboy werewolf was unthinkable. How responsible would that be?
“Are you going to pretend like nothing happened?” she snapped, unable to let it go.
“Zera, we don’t have time for this,” Maverick said firmly, refusing to continue training. “Let’s get some water.”
Her dry throat ached, and questions rumbled in her mind. She didn’t get a chance to ask them, though, as Maverick made a beeline for the kitchen. Hint taken.
“About last night,” he said, tossing one of the bottles of water to her before sitting down at the island. “We should go over everything we saw and heard.”
Zera reluctantly followed him, emotions swirling within her. She took a seat across from him, clutching the cold bottle in her hands, trying to focus on the task at hand.
“Fine,” she agreed, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
As they discussed the events of the gala, her newfound connection with Maverick weighed upon her. She knew they needed to focus on their mission, but the thought of their potential bond lingered in the back of her mind, clouding her thoughts.
She would have to confront it eventually, but for now, she needed to concentrate on their mission and the danger that awaited them. It was the only way she could protect her son and herself from this dangerous world they’d become entangled in.
“What did he say exactly?” Maverick asked her for what seemed like the hundredth time.
“I think that was all.” She shrugged and winced.
Every muscle screamed at her, and she knew she’d be paying for that workout tomorrow.
“He said something about Gareth and being sorry about what he did, offered me a drink I didn’t want but somehow still drank, and then I spilled everything to him.
Or at least everything aside from Cole, thank the fae. ”
“And there’s nothing else you can think of? Anything out of the ordinary?” he asked, his desperation apparent. She knew he wanted the night not to have been a bust, but it was beginning to look like it had all been a waste of time.
Her stomach rumbled.
Zera shook her head. “I’ve told you everything I remember.”
Maverick sighed heavily, running a hand through his tousled hair. “All right,” he conceded, his voice barely above a whisper. There was a hint of disappointment in his tone, and she felt a pang of guilt. They had both hoped for more from the gala, but it seemed like they were back to square one.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, reaching across the table to lightly touch his hand.
It was an instinctive gesture, an attempt to offer comfort in the face of their shared disappointment.
He looked at her, surprise flickering in his eyes before it was replaced by a soft warmth.
He turned his hand around, his fingers curling around hers, giving a reassuring squeeze.
“Don’t apologize, Zera,” he said, his voice gentle. “I should be the one apologizing. For putting your life at risk. For using that bloody FaeMatch app. I was a fool to think it wouldn’t have consequences.”
The sudden sting of tears took Zera by surprise as Maverick’s apology struck a chord within her. She blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. She couldn’t afford to let her emotions get the better of her, not when they were in the midst of a dangerous game. She had to stay focused.
Still, his words meant something to her, and she took them to heart. Perhaps he wasn’t a complete faeboy after all.
“Can you ever forgive me?” His eyes pleaded in an uncharacteristic way, filled with genuine remorse.
Zera could feel the sincerity radiating from him, casting a new light on their situation. Maverick wasn’t just some arrogant cold-hearted werewolf and spy. He was a man who had made mistakes and was taking responsibility for them, a trait she found to be one of the sexiest a man could have.
That and a good set of abs, which Maverick had in spades.
She finally nodded, squeezing his hand back.
He was trying to help her, to make it right, at least. She could forgive him.
Thoughts of her son flooded her mind as she remembered who she was doing all of this for.
A sudden tension replaced the calm as she wondered what would happen if they failed.
They knew Gareth was out there looking for her, looking for a way to hurt them both.
What if they didn’t find him before he struck again?
“Hey, we’ll figure all this other stuff out,” he promised, as if sensing her fears.
His reassurance did little to quell the storm of worry brewing inside her, but she appreciated his effort. And his apology.
Mate.
The word filled her mind, but she squashed the thought before it could solidify. She didn’t want to think about that. She just wanted to finish their mission and get back to her life with her son.
They sat in silence, their hands absently entwined on the table, each lost in their own thoughts.
Suddenly, her stomach grumbled even louder than before, breaking the silence. She blushed, quickly pulling her hand away.
“Sorry,” she said, wincing at the interruption.
Maverick chuckled and cocked an eyebrow, his sweet demeanor vanishing into a smirk. She guessed the arrogance was back. “Hungry?”
“A bit,” she admitted, not caring to be embarrassed as she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since last night.
Maverick stood up from the table, his smirk widening. “Well, lucky for you, I happen to have connections in all the right places. How about I whip us up something to eat?”
Zera raised an eyebrow, a mixture of curiosity and skepticism crossing her face. “You can cook something other than eggs and coffee?”
He shrugged. “I’m full of surprises.”
It took Maverick no time at all to grill a couple of grilled cheeses made with a fancy cheese and sliver of pesto.
As he cooked, he went on about the cheese and how it came from goats raised in the mountains of the Lunar Forest that were fed only moonlit-infused grasses—or some other fancy-sounding process.
She didn’t care. If it tasted as good as it smelled, the goats could’ve been fed moonlit unicorns for all she cared.
He returned to the island with the sandwiches and bowls of soup, a comforting aroma filling the room.
Zera stifled a moan when she bit into the cheesy deliciousness.
The flavors melted together in a symphony on her tongue, causing her eyes to flutter closed in purse bliss.
Maverick’s cooking skills were definitely unexpected, but she was certainly enjoying them.
She opened her eyes to Maverick watching her, that smirk painted across his lips.
“Enjoying it?” he asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Jerk, she thought but nodded, too hungry to formulate a retort.
Maverick leaned back in his chair, appraising her with a playful gaze, as if he’d heard her thoughts. She swallowed hard, hoping he hadn’t. The last thing she needed right now was to find her fated mate, especially if it was a werewolf spy.
“How did you learn to cook like this?” she half moaned.
He shrugged. “You have your little experiment upstairs. I have this. It’s therapeutic for me.”
She nodded, understanding the need to have an outlet for stress and anxiety.
Zera took another bite of her grilled cheese, savoring the flavors that danced on her taste buds.
Maverick’s mention of her pixie-dust experiment was a reminder that her first seedling had failed in the budding stage.
She only had two more seeds to attempt. One of them had to work. It just had to.
“What are you doing up there anyway?” he asked, taking a bite of his own food.
She took a sip of water. “Well, you know why I’m being hunted, right? To harvest my pixie dust.”
Maverick’s expression hardened, but he nodded.
“I’ve been trying to come up with an alternative.”
He frowned. “You mean, to grow pixie dust?”
“No, that’s not possible, but there is a potential to create a synthetic.”
Maverick’s eyes widened in surprise, and he set his sandwich down on the plate. “A synthetic version of pixie dust? Is that even possible?”
Zera nodded. “I believe it. If I can ever perfect the conditions to get the everfrost blossom seedling to grow.” Excitement bubbled from her chest. “I’ve been researching and experimenting with different combinations of enchanted elements, trying to replicate the essence of it.
It wouldn’t create magic, but that’s not the goal.
The goal is to mimic the euphoric properties that make pixie dust so profitable for drug lords.
Plus, they have the added bonus of not being deadly for consumption. ”
“What about the legality of creating such a synthetic drug?”
“Well, you’re a rogue spy, and I’m a pixie with a bounty on her head,” Zera replied with a wry smile. “I think we’ve already established legality isn’t really our top priority.”
“Fair point.” He chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “Have you ever considered finishing your degree?”
A pang of regret tugged at Zera’s heart as she thought about her unfinished degree.
“I used to dream about finishing it, working in an official laboratory somewhere conducting groundbreaking research,” she admitted, her voice laced with nostalgia.
“But life had other plans for me, and if I had to do it all over again, I would. My son is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. ”
Maverick only nodded, and the topic was never brought up again.
He must’ve sensed how hard it was to talk about what she had to give up in order to make room for what she had now.
But it was worth it. She loved Cole more than anything, and she wouldn’t even think about what life might’ve been like without him.
He was the best part of her, and that was that.
With each passing day, a rhythm began to emerge between them.
They trained each morning until her muscles felt like jelly, followed by Maverick’s famous cooking.
Then she spent the remainder of the day working on caring for her everfrost blossom seedling or studying the other ingredients she’d begun to accumulate for her experiment.
Maverick used his spy skills to find any sign of where Gareth could be hiding out while at the same time avoiding bounty hunters.
It was the main reason they rarely left the penthouse, not that she minded. If she lived the rest of her life without being in another ballroom full of pixie killers, she’d be okay with that.
But her favorite part about their routine was ending the day on the phone with Jade and getting to wish her little baby sweet dreams. He was growing up too fast, and she couldn’t wait for all this to be behind her so she could be reunited with her son.
Maverick’s voice, which she’d thought she heard in her mind, never returned, and it was a topic she learned to avoid.