Chapter 10 #6
On their way back, an unexpected whiteout engulfed them.
Though they were no more than seventy-five meters from the garage, they couldn’t see a thing—snow pelted their faces, and the wind turned the world into a featureless blur.
After a tense struggle through the drifts, they stumbled up to the garage doors.
“We need a better method for tending the animals,” Krevan said once they were inside.
“Right now, though, I’ve cleaned their pens and stocked plenty of straw and feed.
The generators are running, so they’re warm enough.
I refuse to risk being stranded out there again—especially so close to home.
I’m certainly not risking you. At least when I was wounded, the weather was milder—otherwise I would have suffered far worse. ”
“We would’ve never made it to Coti,” Ancelin shot back.
“You would’ve died,” Ancelin snapped. “I hate this place and everything that’s happened here.”
Krevan offered a crooked smile. “I doubt I would have died. Triaxens heal quickly even without the compound. The medicine just quickens the healing even more. Just promise you won’t decapitate me, okay?” His eyes twinkled with amusement. “That, I can’t come back from.” He chuckled.
Ancelin ached to touch him but held back.
“I didn’t expect Verrian to get this brutal,” he continued softly.
“But don’t judge the planet too harshly.
The warm seasons are downright beautiful, and it’s where I found you—I’ll always be grateful for that.
You hate Earth, too. Maybe Triaxe is our next stop.
My attorney’s waiting on the Judicial Review Committee’s decision; if they overturn my conviction, I can go home sooner and leave this nightmare behind.
He thinks it’s likely. I miss my family, the big cities…
everything. Someday I want to take you to a proper restaurant and see a real theater.
” Then Krevan brushed a kiss against her cheek.
"I'd give anything to see Triaxe—your family, your home, everything.
And those family compounds you mentioned.
.." Ancelin traced a finger along the window's edge.
"Sounds secure right about now." She bit her lip.
"I keep thinking about Kellie. Trapped like us, but with a baby coming.
What if something happens and Derrick can't get help? "
Krevan squeezed her shoulder. "First babies usually take their time. The storm will break before then." His mouth quirked up at one corner as he gestured toward the white void outside. "This can't possibly last forever."
Ancelin raised an eyebrow. "Famous last words. Watch us still be digging out when we're old and gray."
Krevan's eyebrows rose as he watched her pace. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."
"I can't help it." Ancelin pressed her palm against her forehead. "My stomach's in knots. I'm exhausted but I can't sleep. And I'm starving even though I just ate."
Krevan's eyes widened. He mumbled something that sounded like "pregnant" under his breath.
"What was that?" She stopped pacing.
"The shot isn't foolproof, especially..." He trailed off, suddenly fascinated with a loose thread on his sleeve.
"Especially what?" Her voice rose an octave.
"The venom in our...biology...it can override contraceptives sometimes. Our population is lower than other species—we can only reproduce with true mates. But when we do find our match..." Krevan's voice trailed off, his eyes not meeting hers. "Nature finds a way."
Ancelin's fingers gripped the edge of the table. "And you didn't think to mention this before now?"
"I told you the shot would help prevent pregnancy." He emphasized the word 'help' carefully. "I never promised certainty."
Ancelin's mouth fell open as she studied him, the familiar planes of his face suddenly strange and foreign. She hugged herself tightly. "So, what you're saying is that even with precautions, your... biology overrides them?"
"Not in every case. It depends on many factors."
"So, there could be a baby growing inside me right now."
"There could be." Krevan looked up, his eyes meeting hers directly. "Just as there could be with any mate you chose."
"I see." Ancelin exhaled slowly. "Then why aren't there more Triaxen children?"
Krevan's shoulders tensed under his shirt. "The rarity of finding a true mate serves as nature's check on our species. Without that balance..." His voice trailed off.
"You become dangerous," she finished, the corner of her mouth lifting. "I've seen what you can do."
"Imagine a huge army of us.”
“I understand.” She nodded.
"Once we claim power, restraint becomes... difficult for our kind," he said, his voice low. "We've spent centuries concealing what we truly are, especially our many talents and abilities. We maintain our own justice.
." His mouth traveled from her cheek to the vulnerable hollow where her neck curved into shoulder. As his teeth penetrated her skin, his venom coursed through her veins, dissolving her resistance into a pool of warm satisfaction.
"Don't," Ancelin whispered, her hands pressing lightly against his chest. "Save your venom. You need it."
"It strengthens you," he countered, "and the child you might carry. I've recovered my strength. What matters now is keeping you both protected."
"I'm not ready to be pregnant, Krevan." Ancelin's knuckles whitened around the edge of the kitchen table as she sat down.
"One day, yes. But not while someone's hunting me.
" Her voice cracked. "I trusted we were safe here, and they still found us.
They nearly took you from me." She stared at the wall, blinking rapidly.
"I don't know how much more I can take."
Krevan shifted his weight. "Would you prefer we stop, or use protection?"
"Protection?"
"Condoms," he clarified.
Ancelin's lips curved slightly. "No to stopping. Do you even have any?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I see what you're worried about. Typical male."
"Never needed them before. Can't carry or transmit diseases." He leaned against the counter, a half-smile playing on his lips. "And yes, I’m male. I thought that was on my list of qualifications."
"I can't stay angry with you, though I want to."
"You're stronger than you know." He crossed to her, resting his hands on her shoulders.
"We'll solve this together. My father will help us find who's after the crystal and why.
We'll end this." He pulled her close. "For now, let's just be.
" His lips found her neck, hands sliding down to cup her breasts through her shirt.
“You’re single minded.” Ancelin moaned, “Oh, that feels nice,” Ancelin kissed him back, full of enthusiasm.
“No, I’m not. I just can’t get enough of you.”
“I can’t get enough of you either. Let’s go back upstairs. Can we make love?”
"Yes, my mate." Within seconds, they were upstairs next to the bed.
Krevan's eyes burned into hers as he tore his shirt over his head and cast aside his trousers.
Ancelin's fingers trembled with urgency as she shed her clothes, her breath catching at the sight of him—magnificent, healed, his body a testament to survival and his strength.
Her heart thundered against her ribs as she reached for him, palm sliding across the heat of his skin, feeling the muscles tense beneath her touch.
When she drew him toward the bed, his response was immediate, primal—claiming.
Krevan growled, the sound vibrating through her as he joined their bodies in a single desperate motion that made her gasp and arch against him.
Their kisses became devouring, hungry—memories of fear and separation dissolved in the rhythm they created together.
Each movement was both question and answer, their bodies remembering what words had forgotten.
When release finally claimed them, it was like falling from a great height—clutching each other through the freefall, crying out as though in both pain and salvation.
As his teeth found her shoulder, the venom singing through her veins, Ancelin surrendered completely to the tide of sensation, her worries not merely floating away but burning to ash in the wake of their shared fire.
"I nearly forgot how it feels to be so close to you," Ancelin whispered in his ear.
Her fingers traced the curve of his shoulder as she pressed against him, her lips brushing the sensitive skin below his ear.
Krevan's eyes darkened as he gathered her closer, their bodies fitting together like pieces of a forgotten puzzle finally reunited.
"When we're together like this, nothing else exists. "
"Remember this moment," he murmured against her hair. "Remember us." His voice held a tenderness reserved only for her. They drifted to sleep entwined, heartbeats synchronizing in the quiet darkness.
Krevan jolted awake hours later. His sudden movement startled Ancelin from sleep.
He was already moving, pulling on clothes in the darkness, his earlier tenderness replaced with urgent purpose.
Outside, the storm had quieted to an unnatural stillness.
"What is it?" Ancelin whispered, fear climbing her throat.
"I hear something. Get dressed, now."
"Oh, no, not again, I can't stand this."
"Ancelin, get dressed. Now." Krevan's voice cut through her panic.
"Fine," she muttered, fumbling with her clothes, her fingers clumsy with fear.
"The basement—go there while I check what's happening," he said, already moving toward the stairs.
Ancelin froze at the top step. "Not the basement. Please." Her voice caught. "I can't go back down there."
Krevan's expression softened momentarily. "The bedroom then. Though the basement would be safer."
"Safer?" She shook her head violently. "They found me there before. That place feels like—" she swallowed hard, "—like I'm already dead."
Before she could finish, his arms were around her, and suddenly they were back in the bedroom.