Baladar leaned over, bringing his head closer to us as he lowered his voice: “You’rebonded mates. Like the original shifters. You can speak into each other’s minds, feel the other’s emotions, sense when the other is in danger, no matter how far away. Haven’t you felt it? I can see it.”
I understood his explanation, but I wasn’t sure I believed what he was saying. Modern wolves didn’t have bonded mates. It was like an old talefrom the origin of shifters, and no one knew if it was actually true or just made up.
Turning to Kade, I reached out a hand, feeling for that spark of energy that was always between us. The closer I got, the stronger the pull. Had this changed since we’d made love? For the first time I tried to speak to him using the same path I did with Finn – a bonded mental connection. As my energy expended, I realized my heart was hammering. I both feared the truth, and hurt at the thought that it might not be possible.
Kade?I focused the question, not sure if Finn would hear too.
Kade’s arms went around me and he lifted me up into his body.How is this possible?His deep voice rumbled through my mind, and right then, as our thoughts mingled in our consciousnesses, our energy let out a deep gonging sound, like a bell had been struck. My body sank into his as mecca danced around the room. Both of us glowed purple, and some of the space inside, from where Selene had stolen my energy, was filled.
“I can feel you,” I said out loud, still not used to speaking with him in my mind. “Your energy, your strength.” My voice dropped to barely a whisper. “I can feel you.”
Kade kissed me then, long and hard, the purple of our skin brightening. I could see itbeneath my closed lids. Using our bond, he said to me:I can feel you too. Everything. Your kindness, your heart, your loyalty and love for all your people. Your love for me. I am not sure I’m worthy, but I will never take this for granted. You are my bonded mate. My true one.
My true one,I echoed back, losing myself in his embrace.
Eventually we had to stop kissing, but Kade kept me close to his side. He turned to Baladar, and I could feel the happiness and confusion within him. “It is true. We’re bonded mates. But how is this possible? I thought bonded mates were a fairy tale? No bears have ever bonded in such a way. There are stories, but no evidence of it.”
So it wasn’t just the wolves.
Baladar shook his head. “They were very common back in my day, when wolves and bears inter-mated. You see, the combination is only possible with the opposite race. It’s how things were meant to be. Yin and Yang. Balance. The reason bears have male heirs and wolves have females. The leaders have always been meant to be together.”
Holy shifter babies. We had intentionally separated the races, and by doing so kept everyone from meeting their bonded mate. It left an awful pit in my stomach. Not to mention … how freaking old was Baladar? Wolves and bears had not been together for hundreds of years, clearly since the time of the original shifters.
I could see that all of our people were affected by this revelation, by the knowledge which had been lost, knowledge which would have helped to strengthen our people. When did this all start, the division between us?
Nikoli cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but we must hurry if we’re to make the changing of the guard.”
Kade and I separated ourselves then, the purple mecca fading from our skin.Never separated now, love,he said, before a mental barrier fell between our minds. I could feel him there, but the thoughts weren’t actively flowing between us. He’d done that, separated our thoughts, and I was grateful. It was going to take me some time to figure out how to isolate Finn and Kade in my mind, and how to only project the thought I wanted each to know. It wouldn’t be long, though. All my years meditating and using the bonded connection to Finn had been good training.
Baladar led us across to the far side of his bear party area, and pointed toward a door that was discreetly hidden in a small alcove. “Use this exit. It’ll drop you very close to the royal residence. Selene hasn’t had time yet to incorporate toomany new security measures, but she is actively keeping an eye out for you. Especially after Calista’s letter.”
I grinned. “You knew it was her. That she wrote on my behalf?”
The magic born threw back his head and laughed. “I could see my little spitfire in every word, but it was your words she used. She knows you better than anyone else. She knows what you’d want her to say to your people.”
“I’d be lost without her,” I said, injecting every ounce of my love for Calista into the sentiment. “She’s been my rock for twenty years, and she has never given up on me.”
Baladar surprised me then with a hug. I was so used to no one touching me without permission, I tensed for a second. But then it was nice. Just a light, comforting hug.
When he pulled away, he had a bright purple flower in his outstretched hand. “Take care in the Otherworld. Use this to stay in touch with me, and be safe. I would not see you lost. The shifter world needs you and King Kade.”
He pulled away, and before I could say anything more he was gone, disappearing into the brightness of his prison world, leaving me with the fae flower communication device, which I tucked into my backpack. I needed to figure out a way to break the imposed imprisonment of himhere. I still couldn’t understand why it hadn’t fallen with the death of the Red Queen. Somehow she had figured out a way to continue to rule, even from the grave.
Kade reached around me to open the door, his hands brushing along my sides as we stepped out into the dark night, bathed by the glow of the street lamps.What the…?
We were nowhere near Baladar’s loft. We were only a block from the palace. That man had some serious magic up his sleeve. Kade wrapped one of his arms around me, offering comfort in the way of our people – touch. It hit me hard then. I wasn’t alone. Sure, I’d never been fully alone, always surrounded by dominants, guards, advisors, but I had stood apart from them, always with the proper protocol, me being heir or queen. The only one who was my equal was Finn, and I’d clung to our bond with ferocity.
Now I had Kade too, another equal – more than equals, we were partners – and that gave me a sense of strength and happiness I’d never felt before. It also scared me to death. How did one go on without their partner? It was like my soul was divided again now, and I had twice as much to lose if this went badly. Crap. Going to the Otherworld was a really bad idea, but we had no choice. If anyone else was the third part of my soul, it was Violet. I couldn’t lose any of them.
I would just have to pray to all the shifter gods that I was strong enough for this, that I could be a queen, friend, and mate, without losing any of my loved ones.
We moved silentlytoward the royal home as Nix took to the skies. So far we’d passed a few shifter patrols, but my dominants were familiar with the general walk line and shift changes, so we were able to avoid them. The closer we got, though, the harder it would be. Selene seemed to have doubled the numbers patrolling, and I wasn’t sure if it was fae or me she feared. Either way, she was continuing her trend of being a pain in the butt. It was stressful to think of all the stupid and selfish energy she was probably filtering across our boroughs, and right when we were at war. It was not a time for that sort of weakness to be here.
“Three royal guards on my six,” Victor whispered. “Turn into this alley. We’ll wait it out here.”
No one spoke or questioned his orders, even though he sounded a little uncertain. All of us were missing Ben right now; he would have had a million routes plotted out in his head, already have known which way to turn to avoid everyone. My heart squeezed tightly in my chest as I swallowed down my sorrow. There was notime for mourning, no matter how much I needed to grieve.
Nikoli stepped closer to Kade and me, whispering softly: “I can cloak three people, but not all six.” Darkness surrounded us in the alley.
