Chapter 14
Abram
My eyes glanced around Della and Haden’s home. Dinner was soon but she wasn’t here yet. Haden and Cassius were talking about babies as each one of them bounced one of the twins. Elowyn had said she had something to do this morning and I hadn't seen her since then.
I missed her.
After what felt like forever of my constant peering around the room, she finally appeared through the front door.
I didn’t show how happy I was to see her, even though I had just seen her this morning at breakfast. But she hadn’t talked to me like she normally did then.
She seemed distracted and lost in thought.
“Elowyn, you came!” Della came over and hugged her.
Elowyn gave her a breathtaking smile as she handed her some sort of dessert she made.
Her eyes found mine, and she smiled again.
My gaze dropped to her hand, almost hoping she left the ring on her finger so someone would ask about it.
To my disappointment, it wasn’t on her finger.
She headed toward me though, and I instinctively took a step toward her.
But I caught myself before I could give anything away.
I could feel Haden’s gaze burning a hole in me.
When I looked at him, he raised his brow at me, but I only leveled a glare at him in return.
He grinned, not intimidated in the slightest by me.
What would they say if they found out I was married and sleeping with a woman who was not my mate? It was unheard of. It was shameful.
“Hi.” Elowyn smiled at me.
Noticing that Cassius had joined Haden in studying us, their gazes bouncing between Elowyn's face and mine. I looked at her and gave her the same indifference I had before we were married.
“Hi,” I said coldly.
I heard her swallow. I felt her disappointment crushing me under the weight of it. Then her shoulders squared and I saw a faint black shimmer around her as if magic was protecting her. What the hell was that?
“Dick,” she whispered, and I turned my glare to her. “Hi, Cassius. Hi, Haden.” She smiled sweetly at them.
“Elowyn, it’s good to see you.” Haden gave her a big smile.
“Elowyn.” Cassius smiled in a friendly manner before giving me a sassy ass look.
Then I felt it. A cruel, cold magic I had felt only once before, but back then, it had nothing of this magnitude. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from Elowyn. Cassius and Haden seemed to feel it too as their eyebrows pulled together.
I stepped closer, trying to steady the whirlwind inside me as I reached out, but it wasn’t her I touched; it was the pulse of something beneath her skin, something fierce and raw that hadn’t been there before.
Her magic now thrummed against my senses, no longer hidden or tempered, but wild, dark, and hungry, like a storm gathering strength in the silence before the thunder broke free and shook the world around it.
It unsettled me in a way I couldn’t place, like feeling a blade’s edge just beneath the surface of a calm river.
I blinked, trying to understand it, but the feeling slipped through me like smoke, too complex, too deep to name. And that exact feeling, that nameless dread, is what made me realize what was happening. Nyxthra was free. That was the magic protecting her.
“Elowyn...” The name felt different on my tongue, heavier. Her eyes held that same fire I’d always known, but now there was something else, an undercurrent of something dangerous, something powerful.
Why had she let Nyxthra out? I was starting to understand the magnitude of Elowyn's power.
“Sorry to interrupt. I was just hoping to hold one of the babies.” She smiled as Cassius immediately handed her Bayla.
“Yes, please. This one is being quite sassy today.” He laughed as she grabbed Bayla, turning around and sitting in the rocking chair.
“You don’t have to be a dick all the time,” Haden said as he looked at me.
I rolled my eyes.
Elowyn was talking softly to Bayla as Della and Thea came over. She talked with them quietly, her smile not fully reaching her eyes. Bayla stared up at her like she was the most fascinating woman she had ever seen, and I smiled softly at the sight.
Then Thea and Della both stilled like they felt that odd energy coming from her too. Their gazes flickered to me, but I didn’t acknowledge anything.
“Why do you look happy?” Cassius asked.
My smile fell, and I glared at them. Why were they watching me so closely? Ezra appeared behind them with a giant smile. Thank the heavens, he’d take away their attention from me.
“Miss me, fellas?”
I grinned when he stole Kazren from Haden and immediately began talking to him.
“Ezra, late, per usual.” Della gave him a look.
“Some souls were a pain in my ass—butt.” He looked at Kazren and flinched. “Sorry, Uncle Ezra forgets that I shouldn’t cuss in front of you, little man.” He looked up. “Elowyn, it’s been a while.”
He walked off to go speak with her, and I immediately turned my body so I could watch them. Ezra was a natural flirt, and I knew he had a mate. But I also didn’t like him talking so casually with Elowyn, like they were best friends.
His hand reached out as they laughed and rested on her shoulder as he said something else to her. My eyes narrowed on the touch. I didn’t like this at all. Suddenly, Ezra pulled his hand away as if he was burned. Maybe he felt the weight of my gaze on him.
His gaze snapped quickly to me, like he was concerned about something. When I looked at Elowyn, she was staring at something I couldn't see. Her head tilted slightly, almost as if she was listening to Nyxthra.
“Let’s eat.” Della smiled.
Elowyn smiled softly at Bayla as she grabbed her finger tightly. Ezra came over to me quickly.
“What is wrong with Elowyn?” he whispered.
Shit, so they could feel it.
“What? Nothing.”
“I know I am not the only one that feels that coming from her. She was not that powerful the last time I saw her.”
I looked at Elowyn over Ezra’s shoulder as she handed Bayla back to Cassius. Her gaze met mine, and a smile that was not friendly tilted her lips.
“She’s been stressed out with coven stuff. I’m sure it’s just that.” I answered without thought.
“How do you know that?” Ezra asked.
Shit.
I looked at him, and a slow smile spread across his face.
“I see.”
“Don’t start with me.” I gave him a pointed look.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
I sighed heavily and followed everyone to the dining room.
We all took seats at the table. I sat across from Elowyn so I could stare at her easily. Thea and Cassius took the babies back, even at the protest of Ezra. I stared at Elowyn, noticing she had not looked at me once. She took a bite of the steak Haden made.
Elowyn sat differently, not tense or like she was making herself small so no one would notice her. She took up the space around her physically but also with her magic. Her gaze flickered up to mine, and I saw a shadow pass through them. She watched me like I was a stranger.
Gods, Elowyn, what happened on your errand today? Why did she let Nyxthra free? I thought our date the other day smoothed things over somewhat, but clearly she was not on the same page as me.
Darkness flickered in her eyes before she grinned like a woman full of secrets. The look called to something in me, and I couldn’t help but stare at her. She had said Nyxthra was attached to me, but I didn’t ask her exactly what that meant.
“So, have you found your mate yet or what?” Ezra asked, and it took me a long time to realize he was talking to me.
Elowyn didn’t even bat an eye.
“Me?” I asked.
I looked around and saw that everyone was watching me gawk at Elowyn. I sat up straighter and moved my gaze to Ezra.
“Yeah…” He looked around. “Who else would I be talking to?”
“No, I haven’t.” I narrowed my eyes on him.
It was silent for a long moment as he gave me a look, trying to figure out why I was irritated with the question.
“What about you, Ezra? Have you found your mate?” Elowyn asked.
We were all tense because he always got upset over this topic. But he was the one that brought it up, so it was fair game. Elowyn watched him thoughtfully, her gaze locked in on his like she could see something no one else could see in him.
Well, I didn’t like that look.
“I have.” He smiled, which was odd.
Elowyn’s face fell slightly.
“Why didn’t you bring her?” Elowyn asked innocently, and maybe that was the only reason Ezra hadn’t had a mental breakdown yet at the probing questions.
“She broke my heart and married another man.” Ezra shrugged, masking the hurt we all knew he carried.
Elowyn blinked slowly like she hadn’t heard him correctly.
“Ezra, I’m sorry. I didn’t know," she said, looking like my Elowyn for a brief moment.
“It’s alright, El.” He gave her a reassuring smile.
“So you rejected the bond then?” she asked, curious.
“No.”
“Oh, why not?”
“Because we don’t reject mates, ever,” I snapped, more angry than I meant to be. “Our mates are gifts from the heavens. They know best. His mate will find her way to him when the time is right.”
The table fell silent at how irritated I was over this topic.
Elowyn’s eyes were focused on her plate, black as the night, but she closed them and her pretty honey-colored eyes were back.
Fuck, I shouldn’t have reacted that way.
It wasn't what she thought. I was upset because I couldn't reject a mate.
I didn’t want to talk about rejecting mates because no one had ever been able to reject a mate. That terrified me because I wanted Elowyn and couldn’t fathom wanting another woman more than her.
“Just ignore the old grumpy ass over here.” Ezra pointed at me. “He’s feeling pretty upset that he is the last of us to get a mate.”
Elowyn’s eyes flickered to me, and for a brief moment she showed me the hurt in her eyes before it evaporated, like the emotion had been ripped from her by some external force. She took a bite of the steak like the conversation was done.