by J. S. Scott
“Fuck. She should have run like hell when she got away instead of trying to text the three of you,” he said huskily, unable to keep his turbulent emotions buried. “The bastard must have injected her with toxins before he disappeared.”
Sentinels were immune to that particular weapon in the arsenal of torture devices the Evils utilized. Unfortunately, humans were not, and there was nothing an Evil loved more than releasing the poisons from its claws into a human body and watching its victim suffer.
“She’ll live, although the next day or two will be painful for her,” Kristoff grumbled, standing at Zach’s side with a remorseful expression. “The Evils are getting bolder, blatantly breaking more rules. If Goran could have taken her, he would have. So obviously, there are some things that they still aren’t capable of doing, like ignoring your life bargain with her. They couldn’t take her because you’re still alive. He hurt her just because he could. They can’t draw power from a human unless they’re in their own realm.”
Tearing his eyes from Kat, Zach shot Kristoff a dark look. “Why? Why her? Cut the bullshit and tell me why they’re so eager to get to Kat. I know you know. You said she was special. She’s my mate. I deserve to know why. I can’t fucking protect her if I don’t know everything.”
Kristoff crossed his arms in front of him, returning Zach’s stare. “You’d protect her best by taking her as your radiant. Bind her to you. But you're obviously not ready to do that. The Evils have reason to want her in addition to the purity of her soul. She is dangerous to them, and they obviously know it or they wouldn’t be gunning for her so hard.”
Zach cocked his head, nearly wanting to laugh at Kristoff’s comment. His sweet, gentle Kat was dangerous to the Evils?
Impossible.
“She couldn’t hurt any living thing even if she wanted to,” Zach replied, giving his king a skeptical look. “She’s not capable of it.”
Zach heard his brothers’ low murmur of agreement, both of them standing behind Kristoff, listening intently. Since Kat had saved his life with her rash actions, she obviously had the total support of all the Winstons.
“She doesn’t have to be anything other than what she is for them to want her. It’s her dormant radiant abilities they’re afraid of,” Kristoff replied, running a frustrated hand through his blond locks.
Every radiant had a dormant power that was released upon her joining with her Sentinel mate, a benefit that rippled to every one of them in the entire population. That constant infusion of power was one of the reasons the Sentinels had thrived. Rarely was it anything other than a small addition to every Sentinel’s magic, a tiny surge felt by every one of them when a joining took place. It was a common occurrence, and Zach rarely even noticed the addition to his powers anymore. “Why is Kat different from any other?” Zach asked, grinding his teeth with impatience. Kat was in pain, suffering, and he fucking wanted to know why.
“She holds the power of realm-walking,” Kristoff answered grimly.
Zach looked at Kristoff in horror, hearing a low whistle from his brothers behind the king.
“That’s no little burst of power. Sounds more like an atomic bomb,” Drew commented, his voice incredulous. “How can she hold that type of magic?”
“Somewhere in her very distant ancestry, one of her descendants was probably a demigod, a child born of a union between one of the gods and a human. The gift is dormant and harmless, passed from generation to generation, and it won’t awaken unless she mates with a Sentinel,” Kristoff said distractedly, as though he were still working through some of the details himself.
“How do you know this?” Zach asked heatedly, his fists clenching in irritation. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
Kristoff sighed. “I knew she held special power. I could sense it. But I didn’t know what it was until today, when I saw that it was Goran in control of her. I heard his thoughts, his reasons for needing her under their control. I haven’t come face to face with Goran in centuries. I learned much from him today.”
Zach knew that Kristoff could read his Sentinels, but he’d had no idea that his king could also read the Evils. It made sense in a strange sort of way. Kristoff was the Sentinel demon king, and many of his powers were still a mystery, even to the Sentinels closest to him. There were a lot of things that Kristoff didn’t explain, and didn’t share.
“We could finally enter the demon realm, plan attacks, hurt the assholes really bad.” Hunter sounded almost uncharacteristically gleeful.
Kristoff held up his hand in warning. “Hold on. What happens is Zach’s decision. This is a decision for eternity for him. If he doesn’t want to take Kat as his mate, no one will force him. Our past rescues who have disappeared are already dead, captured with no more than an illusionary trick in the dream realm, a skill that the Evils have obviously mastered. I read the information from Goran. We need to master that same skill and be on guard for it now. What happens with Kat is completely up to Zach.”
Zach sat on the bed and threaded his hands through Kat’s hair, his chest aching from watching her suffering. “It isn’t that I don’t want her,” he said hoarsely. “I think I want her too much. She deserves better than me, more than a life lived in darkness.”
“Did it ever occur to you that you’re exactly what she needs?” Kristoff questioned quietly. “Kat’s given her whole life for others. More than likely she’ll continue to do the same. Who will treasure her more than you? A radiant is more than a randomly selected female. She’s your match, and you are hers. Do you really want her with a man who won’t make her happy? ”
Mine.
The thought of Kat being with any other male but him made him nearly feral.
Kristoff continued quietly, “Comfort her for now. Your biggest problem in not releasing her radiant power is that if you don’t, the Evils will never stop pursuing her. But you can decide later. Call if you need us.”
Zach could feel the faint stir in the air as his brothers and Kristoff disappeared, but he didn’t turn around, didn’t take his eyes off his woman.
Normally, he tried to do things the human way to maintain the guise of being normal, but he didn’t have the patience at the moment. Zach dissolved his clothing with his magic, his gaze never leaving Kat as he crawled onto the bed and under the covers with her, pulling her trembling body gently against him, her back to his front. Wishing he could absorb her pain, take it into his own body, he curled one arm around her waist, letting the other slip through her hair and buried his face within the silky locks, shuddering as he inhaled her scent.
“I’m sorry, Kat. So sorry,” he whispered hoarsely against her ear, wishing he could give her something, anything to ease her pain. Human narcotics would be useless against Evil magic. “This shouldn’t have happened to you. None of it. You never should have come into contact with my world.”
Then I would never have met you.
Startled at hearing her thoughts, Zach lifted his head to see her face, but her eyes were closed. Her body had quieted, leaving only a grimace on her beautiful face that told him she was still hurting. “And that would have been a bad thing?” he asked quietly, his arm wrapping a little more snugly around her body.
Yes.
Her answer came so swiftly that it had Zach’s heart thundering against the wall of his chest. “How bad is the pain?” he asked anxiously, relieved that she was at least communicating.
Feels like someone doused me in gasoline and lit a torch. But it isn’t so bad now that you’re here. What happened?
Had Zach known that being near her would make her feel better, he would have had no hesitation in booting everyone out immediately and cuddling beside her. Honestly, he’d been afraid his body against hers would make her hurt worse. “The king of the Evils injected you with some toxins before he disappeared. It will go away, probably by morning, but I know it hurts like hell, sweetheart.”
You were hurt. Are you okay?
The concern and anxiety in her question wa
rmed him. He’d taken some slashes, the amount of blood he’d lost probably making it look worse than it really was. “I’m fine. I’ll heal by morning.”
Are you sure?
Zach smiled against her hair. “I’m positive. I’m worried about you. You should have run when you had the chance.”
I’d never leave you and run away to save myself. You needed help.
Zach’s smile broadened as he absently twisted one of her wayward locks of hair that reminded him of the sun around his finger. “But you wanted me to go and leave you? And just so you know…that would never happen,” he told her roughly, his throat clogged with emotion.
I was scared. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.
“I’m immortal, Kitten. Very few things other than losing my head, literally, are going to kill me. The same doesn’t apply to you. You should have run,” he muttered, slightly disgruntled, but touched by the way she cared about him.
Kat’s entire essence seduced him, ensnared him as no other ever had, and he was helplessly torn between his need to make her his, and his need to provide her with a better life, a happier life than she would probably have with him.
Now, she would have very little choice. To stay safe, she would need to become his radiant, releasing her power, and taking away any further reason for the Evils to have any interest in her. If she didn’t, they would pursue her to the ends of the earth. Hell, he could certainly provide her with a better life than constantly being on the run from Evil demons.
I’ll protect her. Shelter her. She’ll be my radiant and I’ll make her happy. I’ll make it up to her, give her everything she needs and wants.
Zach didn’t trust anyone with Kat’s safety anymore except himself. His need for her was too great, his attachment to her too immense, his drive to protect her too damn strong. In the span of six short days, the woman in his arms had become everything to him.
He didn’t give a shit what sort of dormant magic she held inside her; all he cared about was her, making her his, binding them together.
Kat’s breathing was deep and even, causing Zach to release a masculine sigh of relief. At least she was sleeping restfully, finally free from the pain of the toxin.
Closing his eyes, he tried to relax his body and sleep, but all he could think about was that damn bargain, and he cursed himself for ever making it. He didn’t want Kat under demon compulsions. He just wanted…her.
Pulling her tightly against him, he felt her warmth seeping into his soul, as he had felt it for every hour of every day they’d been together.
I’m a lucky bastard to have her for a mate. I don’t deserve her.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t help but feel that she was getting the short end of the deal. But, like it or not, she would be his. Her life depended on it now.
I can make her my radiant and still set her free to live a better life. She doesn’t have to stay with me or live in my world.
Even as the thought rolled through his mind, Zach felt a growl rise up in his throat. To let Kat go after he released her power would be nearly impossible. Sentinels may have evolved and become nearly human, but his core was still…demon. And his demon need for Kat was completely animalistic and elemental. Yet, his desire for her to be happy struggled against those primitive desires. She’d spent her adult life catering to the needs of others.
Because she has such a huge capacity to give and sacrifice for those she loves. Christ. He’d give anything to be a recipient of that kind of love. He’d been alone so long, so fucking lonely. These days with Kat had been the first time he’d ever really felt alive and whole in two centuries.
His mind troubled and weary, it was quite some time before Zach finally fell into a restless sleep.
Chapter Eleven
“You want me to be your mate?” Kat looked at Zach, turning away from the cup of coffee she had been doctoring with cream and sugar, to make sure she had heard him properly.
She’d been out like a light all night and most of the day, sleeping off the effects of the Evil’s poison. Maybe she wasn’t hearing him properly, or her brain wasn’t quite processing his words right. After she had showered and come downstairs to make something for dinner, she had felt okay. She and Zach had made sandwiches and had eaten together, talking mostly about the horrors of last night. She had thought she was pretty much back to normal. Now…she was starting to doubt she was totally functional.
It’s not possible that he wants to bind himself to me for eternity.
Problem was, he looked completely serious, and as her gaze raked over him, as he leaned that hot, muscular body against the opposite wall of the kitchen, she knew she had heard correctly. He nodded slowly, his hungry eyes meeting her startled gaze with a stare so intense it sent shivers down her spine.
Picking up her coffee mug, she asked him casually, “Why?” He hadn’t ever mentioned her bonding with him before, or the two of them mating.
Pushing himself off the wall, he stalked toward her slowly, his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans, his eyes molten. “Is it really so hard to believe that I want you?”
Um…honestly…yeah. It is hard to believe.
Kat didn’t answer aloud. She raised her coffee to her mouth and took a sip, watching him move slowly toward her.
He got as close to her as he possibly could without touching her, crowding his large body next to hers, leaning one hip against the cupboard. “I think we’ve had this discussion before, Kitten. I don’t want to be without you,” he replied huskily, his eyes never leaving hers. “But there are certain things that you need to know. You deserve better than me. I know that. But nobody will ever cherish you as much as I will, if you just say yes.”
Kat released a shaky breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She had never known it was possible for a man to look both incredibly dominant and vulnerable at the same time. But Zach definitely did. His face expressed a variety of emotions, unguarded and raw, and it made her heart ache. “What do we have to do? Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“I know exactly what I want. I’m looking at her right in front of me. It isn’t a question of what I want. This is about you,” he grumbled, taking the mug from her hand and setting it on the counter so he could match her palm to his. “If we bond, some of the lightness of your soul will transfer to me and you will receive a small piece of my darkness inside you. It won’t change who you are, but you’ll carry a small piece of my dimmer soul with you forever. Personally, I think it’s fucked up, but that’s the way the Sentinel bonding works.” Entwining their fingers, he took their joined hands and laid them gently on his chest.
Honestly, there wasn’t anything Kat wanted more than to give Zach some light in his life. He certainly hadn’t had any throughout his demon existence, spending most of that time feeling guilty about the decisions he had made when he was little more than a child. And carrying a small piece of his soul actually was appealing. In fact, she craved it. If Zach was darkness, she’d willingly wallow in it. He might think his soul was completely black, but Kat knew it wasn’t. “I want it. I want you.” Her words were a whisper filled with longing, the only thing she was able to say.
His eyes starting to glow, he trapped her against the counter, his expression fierce. “This is forever, Kat.”
Oh yeah, she could definitely do eternity. If Zach would look at her like this forever, want her this way for the rest of their existence, she’d never be lonely again. But she’d get old while he…wouldn’t.
“You won’t age after we bond. Our life forces will be bound,” Zach answered, obviously reading her thoughts. “Our demon bargain is over. It ended at sunset. I can’t tell you how fucking happy I am that we can do this without the influence of the compulsions.”
How could she explain that she’d always known the difference between the compulsions and her own emotions? She’d wanted Zach desperately almost from the moment she had met him, and she knew her feelings weren’t the result of the demon bargain. “Nor
a and Stevie?” What would happen with them?
“You’ll never be able to tell them. For a while, they’ll see you age appropriately as they do, but at some point you’ll have to fade out of their life and the lives of their descendants.” Zach looked pensive and nervous, the muscles in his biceps rippling as his whole body tensed. “Hell…there’s nothing about the arrangement that’s fair and I know you’re getting a raw deal, but I still want you to say yes. I need you to say yes. I’m a demon, I’m selfish, and I want you to agree more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my entire existence,” Zach told her in a low baritone vibrating with emotion. “I’m doubtful I can even give you a child of your own. Children between a Sentinel and a radiant are rare.”
Kat hesitated, even though she knew exactly what she wanted. It was habit, a moment of lingering doubt that a man like Zach was ready to make an eternal commitment to a woman like her. But he had just told her how he felt, and she believed him. She had practically raised Stevie with Nora, and she didn’t feel the desperate need for a child of her own. But she did crave Zach. If she wanted happiness, if she wanted to reach out and take something she desperately wanted just for herself, all she had to do was say it. “There’s no guarantee any couple can have a child, and if we can’t, I’m okay with that. So, yes. Please. I want to be your mate, Zach.”
He was on her before she had a chance to breathe, seizing her around the waist and transporting them to his bedroom.
He did the transfer slowly, and she ignored the slight dizziness as she looked up at Zach’s heated eyes, his look dark and fierce as he stripped naked, his hot, possessive gaze never leaving hers.
“Once I speak the words, I’ll be bound and helpless, Kat.” His voice was husky and filled with yearning. He reached for the tie on the silken robe she had donned upon waking, groaning as he found her body naked beneath it, her gown dropping to the floor without a sound. “I’ll be powerless until you accept me.”
Kat knew the basics. Zach had explained how a Sentinel mating worked in general terms, and it had conjured erotic images that she’d never be able to forget.