22. Fusion
22
FUSION
FLINT
I thought my Heartstone was going to die by the flames of my pack brother, but she walked away unscathed. None of us have talked about what this means.
Ultimately, it’s Calder who will have to decide if he wants to walk away from his misery, move past his painful death, and accept the bond with Jade.
Maxum and Raithe stare at Calder’s unconscious form then we all give each other a worried look.
My heart goes out to our phoenix. I hope he can fuse his pieces back together and become stronger for it.
Stronger for her.
Through my mate bond, I sense Arran is easing our mate’s stress with his attention. She’s finding pleasure with him. I’m not angry or jealous, though I wish I could be there with her.
Maybe I should assist him. It’s not like I can offer Calder words of wisdom like Maxum or Raithe can. I’m not eloquent like they are.
Besides, they are strong enough to subdue him if need be.
But before I can ask to be excused and leave, I feel Arran’s presence through my connection with Jade.
What? How?
They’ve somehow deepened their mate bonds. I sense Jade’s and Arran’s joy, and realize I should give them some time to be alone and revel in their full bond.
It’s the least I can do since I had an entire night with my Heartstone, making love to her. By the end, she had no doubt of my utter devotion to her.
She is my center.
Without her, I would lose my mind.
I stare at Calder, wondering if he will heal and find the peace and comfort to soothe his broken heart.
Finally, Calder stirs, still out of his mind. He mumbles unintelligible words until one rings out clearly, over and over. “Jade.”
I cannot say if it’s because he wants her there or because he’s having a nightmare. I glance over at Maxum to see if he can understand with his mind reading abilities.
His lips are pressed into a flat line. That doesn’t give me much to go on. I’ve never been great at reading expressions, especially the subtle ones. It’s why I love my Heartstone so much. Jade doesn’t make me guess because she is so open with her emotions. She doesn’t seem to understand how precious that is to someone like me or in the supernatural world.
All supes seem to mask their genuine needs and feelings. I hear humans and witches are much the same. I often wondered why, until over the centuries, I witnessed many times how a person can turn that knowledge against another. Then that injured person turns wary and guarded.
It breaks me to think Rob could have done that to our Jade, but she is strong. Stronger than she realizes for still being able to be vulnerable with us.
“Do you feel that?” Raithe asks.
“The room has grown warmer,” I answer. “That’s all.”
Raithe pulls his gaze away from Calder, and it lands on me, then Maxum. “I believe, on top of everything else, that he’s entering a mating fever.”
I can deduce what that means from context, but I need to know more, “What does that mean for them?”
“If he doesn’t consummate his mating bond with her, he may die…” Raithe pauses and frowns deeply. “With how weak he is, it could be the final one.”
Maxum jumps to his feet and hits his horns on the low ceiling. “Are you sure?”
“You must pick up from his mind that he’s craving Jade.” Raithe eyes Maxum, waiting for confirmation.
“Yeah.” He rubs his hand down his face. “I just thought… he’s been that way for a while now.”
“But his fire… it touched her? Tasted her?” Raithe asks. “It should have consumed her?”
“Yes,” I say. “I tried to block his attack, but I don’t think it was an attack per se.”
“It was a call to be close to her,” Raithe says. “I had something less dramatic, but similar when I met Amira.”
“But he was out of his mind because he just had his soul fragments returned to him.” Maxum sits back down, his shoulders slumped. “We thought…”
“He’s out of his mind because of the tortured soul pieces, but he’s also out of his mind because he’s been denying his mate,” Raithe explains.
“I should let Jade know how he is,” Maxum announces. “Warn her what to expect.”
Raithe explains how the phoenix bonds work and says, “Go. Both of you. I can keep an eye on him.” He nods to the hatch’s stairs.
Maxum and I are quiet on the short walk over to the cabin.
Before we enter, I hold out my hand to make him stop. “Whatever happens, whatever Jade decides, I cannot allow her to be harmed. I don’t want Calder to suffer or die, but I will not let Jade die.”
Maxum turns, facing me head on. “I love that grumpy bastard, but I will kill him myself if he hurts her. She is our heart now and her death means we’d all die.”
I give him a curt nod and a grunt of agreement.
Maxum opens the door for us to see Jade naked and snuggled into Arran’s lap at the table. He’s feeding her chocolate, and she’s licking it off his clawed fingers.
My cocks come to life and press uncomfortably against my pants. I hold my hands in front of my groin and enter, quickly sitting down at the table on the other side so no one notices. I’m not ready for their jokes about my body, and now isn’t the time.
Maxum plasters on a playful grin to ease Jade’s anxiety spike after seeing us return. I sense through our bond she worries something bad has happened to Calder.
“Is he okay?” she asks.
“He’s still asleep,” Maxum answers vaguely and then he notices the teeth marks on Arran’s shoulder. “What have you been up to?”
“We’re fully bonded,” Arran says proudly.
Maxum whips his gaze to Jade. “But how?”
“Probably because I’m a mutt.” She shrugs and winks at Arran.
Maxum kneels in front of her, taking her hand in his and daring to irritate the wolf with his new mate, but Arran doesn’t react. The completed bond must soothe his territorial nature.
“You, my dear anomaly, are a designer breed.” Maxum kisses the tops of her knuckles and Jade giggles.
Maxum sits down next to them and sighs heavily. His good cheer fades like the drop of a mask.
The blood drains from Jade’s face, as she knows bad news is coming. “What’s wrong?”
“I want to preface this with you promising me you will take time to think about what I have to tell you before rushing off to be the heroine.”
“ Okaaay? ” Jade says, drawing it out as a question. She glances at me for some clue as to what’s going on.
I don’t shut down our bond, but I don’t feed her any information.
Out of all of us, Maxum is the best to deliver news. His stone-cold killer instincts allow him to be rational when he needs to be, and over his eight hundred years, he has developed the ability to communicate.
During my long life, I’ve shied away from talking and connecting.
Connecting is something that I only want to do now, exploring it with my Heartstone.
Maxum leans forward and presses his lips flat. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this. At least not so quickly. It’s his place to tell you, but he’s stubborn and messed up from his past.”
“Is he not going to live?” she whispers.
“It doesn’t look good.”
“Because of what I did?” Tears fall down her face. “Because of the soul fragments?”
Dammit. Maybe Maxum isn’t the right person to tell her.
“No,” I say firmly, just below a shout, so she listens. I correct my volume, but I still am forceful when I finish, feeling angry at the birdbrain male. “Because he’s rejecting his fated mate.”
Her hand goes to her chest and she guesses, “Osen?”
“You,” all three of us say together. Even Osen’s voice chimes in through her mouth.
“I can’t be his fated , can I? He was only starting to get past despising me because I’m a witch. He was fine before we left.” The words fall from her lips like a chaotic storm. Her eyes are wide and frantic. “He said he didn’t think he could be a mate. And I can’t make someone accept me. He barely can touch me. How is this even happening?”
I’d find her rambling endearing if it weren’t that she was so stricken with sadness. She wants to help him.
Goddess, she is a blessing—one that none of us truly deserves.
“His phoenix flame touched you, tasted you.” Maxum takes her hand in his and rubs his thumb over her palm, calming her. “After that, it was all over. Raithe said Calder is now suffering from a mating fever on top of his soul mending.”
Jade swallows down her nerves. With our connection, I can feel her fear and confusion. She doesn’t understand how to fix this and is desperate to find a way.
“I can’t just mate him without his permission. He doesn’t want my touch. Any touch! And after the raw, tortured parts of his soul have just been returned, the likelihood he would want me around is less than it was before.”
“I’m not suggesting you take him by force,” Maxum agrees. “We will have to wake him and see how he responds to the fever. I needed you to know all the facts so you can decide about what’s right for you. It wouldn’t be fair to go into this situation blind.”
“If he rejects the bond, could he die?”
“Chances are good that he might, especially if you say yes and he doesn’t.” Maxum then adds, “Only a few species react in such a dramatic way to rejecting a mate bond, so I don’t think you would suffer from that fate. At least he won’t take you with him and harm you and your other mates.”
“What if he says yes, but I reject him?”
“His odds are better in that scenario, but not great.” Maxum studies her face. “If there was no pressure, would you want him?”
Jade bites her lower lip. “I like him quite a lot, even when he was being a bit of a jerk. I haven’t given myself much space to consider it since he can’t handle me touching him, and he didn’t seem very interested in me until just the last few days.”
“My Moonmate,” Arran breaks his silence. “You must think about it now. Just in case he asks that of you.”
She nods, but then looks to Arran and then to me. “What about you guys? How do you feel about it?”
“If I’m being honest,” I admit. “Nervous. Because I feel Arran through our bond. I suspect he feels me too now.”
Arran grunts his affirmation. “When Jade bit me and I calmed down, I sensed your presence.”
“Oh, wow.” Jade looks at me again. “So you don’t want Calder in our mutual bonds?”
“I don’t mean it like that,” I correct her assumption. “But I worry that because he is so broken, his energy will harm you.”
“Aren’t you worried about yourself?” she asks.
Holy stones below, she is so considerate—almost to a fault.
Feeling my face pull into a frown, I say, “I could shoulder it for my brother, but Calder and I have a history and loyalties whereas you do not owe him anything.”
“I may not owe him anything,” Jade says firmly. “And I might not have a history with him. But I want him to have a future with me… us… if he wants it, too.”
Arran nuzzles into her neck and inhales. “You’re too caring, my moon.”