Chapter 22 #2
Relief flooded through Maverick, washing away the tension that had coiled in his muscles. Zera and Cole were safe. Alive.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward them, his steps quick and purposeful. The distance between them seemed to stretch on forever, but he pushed forward, driven by an overwhelming need to hold them in his arms.
Twin sets of lavender eyes met his. Cole’s crinkled with a smile as Zera’s went wide with surprise. A silent communication passed among them. In that moment, the world around them faded away. It was just the three of them, together at last.
Maverick’s heart swelled with a mixture of love and relief as he finally reached them. He engulfed Zera and Cole in a tight embrace, his strong arms encircling them.
“You’re okay?” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion.
She nodded and melted against his chest, the intimacy of the movement making his heart sputter.
He pulled back to take them all in, checking for any signs of injury, but there were none.
“Of course you’re okay,” he said, his lips ticking upward ever so slightly. His heart swelled with pride. “You had a good teacher.”
“Ha! You wish, faeboy.” She shoved him lightly.
He winked at her, and her answering blush only deepened his wolfish grin.
“Okay, time to break it up, you two,” Jade said with an exaggerated eye roll.
Maverick smirked at her before turning to Cole, who clapped his hands and giggled at the sight of Maverick. “And look at you! You’ve grown twice as tall since I last saw you. Thanks to your good aunties, no doubt.”
Sloane smiled, rising to stand next to her wife, who was busy giving the other three fae who tailed him an appraising look.
Irdeel remained unfazed, picking some invisible dust out of her nails as she went back to shooting Felice nasty glares.
Cillian kept an eye out on all the exits for any sign of danger.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Zera nudged him again, and her lavender eyes danced with humor. “Saves me the trouble of having to save your ass.”
Maverick chuckled as her playful jab hit him right where it counted. He leaned in and breathed in her sweet lilac scent. “You can save my ass any time.”
Zera’s cheeks flushed at his flirtatious remark, but she didn’t back down. “Don’t tempt me, wolf boy,” she retorted, her lavender eyes sparkling with mirth.
Her fight and spunk were two of his favorite things about her. He was relieved that Gareth hadn’t had a chance to smother that fire in her.
Before he could respond with another cheeky comment, something dawned on him. “Where is he? Where’s Gareth?”
“Dead,” she said without even batting an eyelash.
Zera’s blunt response about Gareth’s fate hung in the air for a moment before she continued. “I took care of him and his men while you were breaking out. They won’t be a problem anymore.”
There was a flicker of something dangerous in her lavender eyes that both impressed and broke something in Maverick. He knew she was more than capable of handling herself, but the thought of her having to face Gareth’s cruelty made his blood boil.
He jerked his gaze to the dining hall doors, which were shut like a sealed-off tomb.
He didn’t have to look to know she’d left Gareth and his men in a bloody mess.
The message on her expression was clear—never cross a mother or her child.
The loyalty and devotion of this woman astounded him.
She tugged on his alpha heartstrings, but it was more than just his admiration of her primal need to protect her young that captivated him.
It was her independence, her humor, her fire, and her unyielding strength that made him know he loved her and would love her with everything he had—if she gave him the chance.
What did you say? Zera’s voice whispered to him through the bond.
He blinked. He hadn’t even realized he’d lowered his shields. What did you hear?
Zera raised a brow in challenge. You first.
A smile played at his lips. I didn’t say anything, but what you may have sensed is that… I love you.
Their hearts raced in tandem at Maverick’s confession, but he didn’t stop there. He couldn’t, not after she’d left him speechless at the river without him getting the chance to say…
I’m sorry for how I behaved. He pushed the words through the bond, and by the way her eyes shuttered in reaction, he knew they meant something to her.
I was a fool. An utter fool for how I acted.
For doubting you and blowing everything up.
You didn’t deserve that, and I will never shut you out like that again.
Zera’s breath caught in her throat, her lips parting in surprise, yet a glimmer of joy and hope settled between them.
Say it again.
It took all of Maverick’s self-control not to claim her lips at the sound of her whisper through the bond—straight to his very soul.
I’m sorry, he murmured back to her, and he would say it as many times as she needed to hear it.
She shook her head. They ignored the incredulous looks from the others standing around them. Not that.
He smiled, realizing what she meant, and leaned into her. I love you.
The bond between them pulsed, strengthening with each passing second.
Zera’s smile grew, and she whispered back, I love you too.
His eyes flickered to her lips—soft and delicate and kissable.
Everything in him yearned to claim them, to worship her whole body as he’d done the night before.
Only this time, it would mean so much more.
Their bond was so much stronger, and if she would have him, he promised to honor her in every way she deserved.
There was nothing that compared to the union between mates. Or so he’d heard.
If only they didn’t have an audience. Perhaps it was for the best, though, since he knew they had more pressing matters at hand. Like finally getting out of this place.
“Oh,” Zera exclaimed, pulling back as if she’d had a sudden realization. “And I have something for you.”
Not if I have something for you first, he whispered through the bond.
She shot him an incredulous look, but his devilish grin only deepened.
Come on, I’m serious.
All right, you’ve got my full attention, he said through the bond and pushed those thoughts aside for now, giving her a respectful nod. “What is it?”
She reached inside her back pocket and pulled out a set of keys. A familiar box the size of a ring box tumbled out, too, but she quickly tucked it back into her pocket. He hoped that box wasn’t what he thought it was.
“The keys,” she said, handing the iron set to him. “To this place. They were given to me, but I figured, since you are already familiar with the stronghold, that you might want them.”
He stared at the keys for a long while. They represented a past he wanted to forget. This place reminded him of an evil that had almost taken the most important things from him. A fact he would rather forget, but he took the keys nonetheless.
“Hmm. Thanks, I guess.” He took the keys but barely gave them a second glance as he pocketed them. Cole giggled and reached out to Maverick, who laughed, “Oh, you want to come here?”
He looked to Zera for permission. She nodded and handed Cole off before rising to her feet. Maverick wasn’t sure what he’d done to win such affection, but he wasn’t about to question the little guy’s taste.
I heard that, Zera shot back at him, and he had to stifle a laugh.
Maverick stood up, bouncing the boy on a hip and shuffling from foot to foot before casually nodding toward the imprint of the box, still obvious in the pocket of her black leathers that were ripped and frayed from battle.
“What else did you loot for us?” He hoped his playful smirk was enough to cover his concern.
She scowled. “Nothing.”
Yet guilt trickled down their bond, an unintentional admittance of her lie.
“Zera,” Maverick pressed, “what else is in your pocket?”
“Ugh, can’t you two newlyweds save your banter until after we’re back home?” Felice asked with an exaggerated huff.
The magic Sloane performed on Irdeel’s concussion faltered for a second.
Jade glanced up as she unlocked the last of the bracelets from the others, her protective gaze lingering on her half sister.
“We’re not actually married. That was only a cover, so don’t worry,” Zera said to Jade before fixing Maverick with a glare.
The words hit him harder than any blow. He knew he wasn’t actually Dane Brown and she wasn’t truly married to him, but there was something comforting about their cover. Something that felt like it might’ve been real.
Perhaps she only wanted him as a mate—to love but not to share a life with.
He would be okay with that. He’d lived alone, afraid to trust, for far too long to let her slip away.
That was why he needed to know about the box.
He wanted her to know that she could trust him fully and not push him away because she thought she had to figure things out on her own.
Zera’s eyes softened when she saw the pain in his, the regret whirling like a tempest in the storm.
“What’s going on between you two?” It was Cillian who spoke up, and they all turned to look at the vamp, who just arched an onyx brow in return.
“Fine.” Zera loosened a breath before reaching into her pocking and pulling out the box and chucking it at Maverick. He caught it with a single hand at the last minute. “It was a… gift from Kraven before he left. After he let me kill Gareth. I think he wanted him dead.”
Irdeel watched like a hawk as Maverick opened the box. Her goblin claws poked out through her fingertips in anticipation.
“I haven’t opened it yet,” Zera added.
Maverick held his breath as he undid the hook and opened the top. A bloodred ruby cut into a giant baguette took up the center of the gold band. Even in the dim light of the foyer, it gleamed.
He reached in and pulled it out, a muscle ticking in his chiseled cheek as he studied the gaudy thing.
“Oh no.” Felice shook her head, recognition washing over her face. “What did that crime lord ask of you?”