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  “There is no matter to settle.” Ridley pulled himself up to his full, intimidating height and clenched his fists at his sides. “You can’t force someone to mate against their will. We’re leaving now.” So much venom poured from Ridley, Lynk was surprised the coven leader didn’t wither under the poison in his gaze alone. Why the former alpha was standing up for him, he didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to turn away willing allies. Hell, he wouldn’t even turn away unwilling allies at this point.

  If there was one thing he’d learned from Torren, it was that magic had its time and place. It would be so easy to freeze Tuesday and his guards in place and make a run for it. He couldn’t hold them that way forever, though, and sooner or later—and he was betting sooner—

  they’d all have to face the consequences of his rash actions.

  So, he did nothing while he stood in Kieran’s embrace and waited for the vampire to make the next move. None of it made any sense to him. Why did Tuesday give a damn about who mated who? Unless, of course, it had something to do with Lynk’s last name and the man’s desire to have some claim to a Braddock. But he already had Thane.

  What did he want with Lynk?

  Perhaps Tuesday saw him as weak, more easily manipulated by threat and punishment. Because of Lynk’s smaller size, it was conceivable that it would prove less daunting to bend him to his will Flawless 57

  than it would be Thane. And the only reason the coven would want either of them was because of the Book of the Banished.

  “Easy,” Kieran whispered in his ear. His palm smoothed up and down Lynk’s sternum, stroking him like a kitten. “Breathe, baby. I’ve got you.”

  Lynk let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and melted back into Kieran’s arms, soaking up his confidence. How had things gone so wrong so quickly? They hadn’t even made it past the foyer for pity’s sake.

  “I’m not forcing anyone to do anything,” Tuesday replied to Ridley’s accusation after a long pause. “We have a very unusual circumstance here, and I simply wish to get to the bottom of it.

  Finding one’s mate should be a time of celebration. We are drawn to our other halves. It’s unlikely that Zasha has made a mistake in thinking Mr. Braddock is his mate.”

  “Well, it’s Lynk’s word against Fang Boy’s over there.” Ridley waved dismissively at Zasha. “There’s no way to prove who is telling the truth.”

  “Ah, but there is.”

  “How?” Ridley, Lynk, and Kieran all asked in stereo.

  “If Lynk is Zasha’s true mate, he will be immune to Zasha’s compulsion.”

  Technically, the vampires in the room could only compel him if he allowed it. While it wasn’t exactly on his bucket list, Lynk figured he could allow it this one time if it meant proving that he belonged with Kieran.

  Even as he had the thought, another chased right on its heels.

  What if it was a setup? What if the entire scene had been orchestrated so that it would lead up to this moment? Zasha attacked him, bit him, and claimed to be his mate. Now the only way to prove him false was for Lynk to allow the guy to compel him.

  What if it was all just a clever ruse designed to force the whereabouts of the Book of the Banished from him? If Lynk allowed 58 Gabrielle

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  it, they would have the information they wanted. If he refused, he looked guilty. If he agreed then blocked Zasha out of his mind, it looked as though he was the vampire’s true mate.

  It was a clever ploy, but Lynk was on to them now. Why else would Leader Tuesday stick his nose into such a trivial personal matter? And why the hell were Varik and Demos just standing there, not saying a damn word in his defense?

  “Wait,” Varik said, stepping forward with both hands raised.

  Though he’d wanted this, Lynk still had to resist the urge to put a gag spell on him in fear that he’d say something to make the situation even worse. “What about Kieran? Doesn’t he get the chance to prove that Lynk is his mate as well?”

  “Yes,” Tuesday answered tightly. “It is only fair, I suppose.” Okay, great, something was finally going their way. “How do we prove it?” he whispered up to his mate.

  Kieran’s entire body was as rigid as stone, and he’d begun to growl like a rabid dog. “No.”

  “If Kieran fails his test, then Zasha will have a chance to prove himself as Lynk’s true mate.” Well, at least Demos finally had something helpful to say.

  “No!” Kieran spat. “We are leaving. If you come anywhere near him, I will shred each and every one of you with my bare hands and laugh while I do it.”

  “Zasha has staked a claim to Lynk.” Tuesday looked much too pleased for Lynk’s liking. “Until it is proven that you are not coercing Mr. Braddock into denying his bond with Zasha, he will remain here.” He looked around their loosely formed circle. “You all will remain here.”

  “You can’t keep us here!” Ridley shouted.

  Tuesday chuckled darkly and shook his head. “My boy, I can do anything I want. Axton, Gideon, please show our guests to their rooms.”

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  “Fuck this.” Kieran lifted Lynk into his arms and swung around toward the front doors, only to find them barricaded by a dozen Enforcers.

  Knowing there would be serious consequences, but not seeing any other way out of their predicament, Lynk concentrated all of his power, sending a blast of magic through the room to bind the Snake River vampires in place.

  “Hurry.” Varik ushered them through the doors and out to his SUV. “Shit, shit, shit!”

  “We are so completely screwed,” Demos added as he slid into the passenger seat.

  “Fuck that tool,” Ridley called from the very back of the vehicle.

  Not exactly eloquent, nor was it in any way helpful, so Lynk ignored him.

  “What are we going to do now?”

  “We’re going straight to Casper, and you’re going to tell Torren everything that happened,” Varik said as he stomped on the accelerator.

  “Why me?” Lynk demanded.

  Demos glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. “Because he won’t kill you.”

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  Chapter Seven

  “You did what?” Torren bellowed.

  Kieran—dressed in an extra pair of clothes from his backpack—

  pushed Lynk behind him and faced the elder with a look of contempt.

  “What the hell did you want him to do?” It didn’t matter if Torren was Lynk’s brother. No one talked to his mate like that.

  “Can’t we bring charges against him for trying to force Lynk into a mating?” Ridley asked.

  Torren pushed his hair back from his forehead and groaned. “I don’t know. We’ll have to talk to Elder Cortez. I don’t know all the rules of vampire society. Sloan would be able to tell us more.”

  “Thane is there,” Lynk said quietly, trying to push around Kieran and huffing when Kieran refused to let him. “The connection is weak, but it’s there. I’d guess he’s being sedated.”

  “Am I the only one that found Zasha’s display of possession a little too convincing?” Demos shrugged when Kieran growled at him.

  “It didn’t look like a setup. It felt real.”

  “Well, his teeth in my neck certainly felt real.” Kieran wrapped his arm around Lynk’s shoulders and pulled him closer to his side. Just thinking about the bloodsucker biting his mate was enough to make him shake in rage. There was also a small part of him that felt guilty. He’d promised to keep Lynk safe, swore that no one would touch him. Within five minutes of stepping foot inside that house, he’d broken his promise.

  It had all happened so fast, though. One minute they were playing nice and making introductions, and the next, Zasha had Lynk pressed up against him and was making a snack out of his jugular. Everything Flawless 61

  after that was a bit of a blur, but Kieran still felt the urge to snap the fucker in half and twist him into a pretzel.

  “It�
��s possible that he truly thought Lynk was his mate,” Torren said after a long minute of silence. He slid into one of the kitchen chairs and motioned for everyone else to do the same. Apparently this was going to be a long discussion.

  “But, he’s not,” Lynk said as Kieran settled the man into his lap.

  He was more than a little pleased when his mate didn’t argue with him. “Why would he think that?”

  Torren pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, though he looked like he wanted to slam his forehead against the kitchen table. “He could be Thane’s mate. As your twin, your energies are very similar. The connection between the two of you was still open when this vampire came close to you. It’s possible that he’s feeling Thane through you.”

  “Oh, fuck me running,” Raith groaned. “So, what do we do now?

  Can’t we just go in there and take Thane?”

  “We don’t know where he’s being held,” Torren argued.

  “Lynk can find him.”

  “They’ll never let us take him without a fight.”

  “You’re a goddamn elder!” Raith exploded. “Why are you backing down from this?”

  “Snake River is one of the biggest covens in the country,” Torren replied calmly. “We don’t have enough Enforcers to fight them, and we have no evidence to arrest anyone.”

  “We know Thane is there.”

  “Prove it,” Torren returned with an arched eyebrow.

  “Why do we have to prove anything?” Kieran demanded. They’d rescued plenty of captives on little more than a hunch or a tipoff. Why was this any different? He was willing to bet everything he owned that Thane Braddock wasn’t the only person being held against his will in Snake River.

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  Torren looked exhausted right down to his bones as he stared at Kieran. It was understandable considering how quickly things were snowballing downhill for the paranormal world. The witches who had tried to attack them during their Halloween gathering were only the beginning. More would come, and the next time, they’d come prepared.

  They were still trying to find the remaining Braddock brothers.

  More captives were being reported all around the country. There were still missing children and more turning up drained of their powers courtesy of different power-hungry witch covens. It was a lot of responsibility to shoulder.

  “I’m not sure it would matter if we had proof,” Torren said quietly. “Snake River has more Enforcers than the whole of The Council. That’s not even counting the number of coven guards who aren’t registered Enforcers. That place is locked down tighter than Alcatraz.”

  Varik and Demos sat with their heads down and their hands clenched on the table in almost identical poses. “We didn’t know,” Varik mumbled. “I swear we didn’t know.”

  “No one is blaming you,” Torren assured them.

  Kieran didn’t blame them, either, but Varik’s comment did spark another thought. “If you guys didn’t know, then it’s possible that no one else does. What if it’s only a small faction like Tuesday’s inner circle?”

  “That’s a good point.” Torren’s brow creased even as he rubbed at it with his fingertips as though trying to iron out the wrinkles. “I’ll get in touch with the other elders and call a special meeting for later tonight.”

  “Daddy,” a quiet, sleepy voice called from the doorway. Wren stood there, clutching the ugliest stuffed pig Kieran had ever seen. “I had a bad dream.”

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  “Everyone is welcome to stay,” Torren said as he moved around the table and lifted his son into his arms. “You want to tell me about your dream, buddy?”

  Wren shook his head, wrapped his arms around Torren’s neck, and buried his little face in Torren’s throat. “Will you tell me a story?”

  Aslan wandered into the kitchen, yawning hugely as he waved his hello to everyone. “You want me to take him so you can finish up here?” he asked his mate.

  Torren bent and kissed him on the forehead. “We’re done.” His fingers looped around the back of Aslan’s neck and squeezed lightly.

  “C’mon, sleepyheads. Let’s get you two back in bed.” The trio disappeared, but Kieran continued to stare at the spot where they’d been, unable to swallow around the lump in his throat.

  He wanted that. While he had his siblings, and now his sister’s twins, he wanted a family of his own.

  Taking Lynk’s hand, he brought it to his lips and whispered a kiss over the knuckles. They’d get there one day. It had been barely three days since they’d met, and there were still a multitude of issues to work out in their relationship before they got to that point.

  “We’re going to head back to Haven,” Demos announced.

  “Someone needs to fill Stavion in on what happened.”

  “And we need to prepare for any backlash against Haven,” Ridley added, rising to his feet with the vampires. “Do you need anything from your place, Kieran?”

  “That would be great. I’ll call Parker and have him get it together if you don’t mind grabbing it before the meeting tomorrow.”

  “No problem. We’ll see you guys later.” Then they were gone as well, leaving Kieran alone with his mate for the first time since the sun had set.

  “Do you want me to stay?” He probably should have thought to ask his mate that before everyone left. Still, there were plenty of spare rooms and even a few couches if it came down to it.

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  “Of course I want you to stay.” Lynk looked at him in shock.

  “Why would you think differently?”

  Because I’m insecure and you confuse the hell out of me. “I just wanted to be certain that we were on the same page. So, which room is yours?”

  Lynk rose to his feet, took Kieran’s hand, and tugged him gently.

  “I’ll show you.”

  * * * *

  Snuggled in bed, his head resting on his mate’s chest, Lynk voiced the question that had been weighing on his mind since the fiasco at Snake River. “How would you prove that we’re mates? Why did you get so angry about it?”

  Kieran sighed and hugged him closer. “They’d have to separate us on the full moon. I don’t trust those idiots. There was no way I was letting them take you away from me.”

  “What would happen on the full moon?” Lynk curled closer and smiled, warmed that Kieran wanted to keep him close.

  “I’d shift, find you, and claim you. It can be very intense, and a werewolf will do whatever it takes to get to his mate on a full moon.

  It can be physically painful for me if I don’t find and claim you.”

  “So, I need to stick close on the full moon.”

  “That would be appreciated.” Kieran rolled to his side and tilted Lynk’s head up with gentle pressure under his chin. “It can be scary.

  I’ll claim you in my shifted form, and I’ll probably be pretty growly.

  It’s still me, though, and I would never do anything to hurt you, okay?”

  “When you claim me…that includes sex, right?” Kieran dipped his head once, never taking his eyes from Lynk’s. Lynk had seen his mate in shifted form, and he had serious doubts that the monster cock between his powerful thighs would fit, but he was more than up to the Flawless 65

  challenge. In fact, he looked forward to it. “Okay. When is the next full moon?”

  “Not until the end of the month.”

  “They wanted to keep me there for four weeks!”

  “I imagine they wanted to keep you there for a lot longer than that.” Kieran growled and his arms tightened around Lynk momentarily before he got control of himself. “Can I ask you a question now?”

  “Sure,” Lynk answered sleepily. It was hard to stay awake with Kieran wrapped around him and stroking his hair.

  “What is a soul bond?”

  All drowsiness fled, and Lynk went rigid. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Torren said something abo
ut it. What is it, Lynk?”

  “Don’t freak, okay?” Yeah, that was a brilliant start to the conversation. It would certainly assure that Kieran remained calm.

  Lynk barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

  “I’m a werewolf, Lynk. I think I kind of cornered the market on freaky. Just tell me what’s going on.” The guy had no clue. His particular affinity for the full moon was mild compared to the bomb Lynk was preparing to drop on him.

  “Remember when we talked yesterday about the original circle of witches who tried to destroy the Book of the Banished?” Kieran nodded, though he still looked calm. “You were cursed, and part of your soul was ripped from your body.”

  “What did you say?” Lynk sat up quickly, wrapping the sheet around his waist as he stared in stunned silence at Kieran.

  “I’m not stupid, Lynk.” Kieran snorted and tried to pull him back down to the mattress, but Lynk shook his head and held his hand up.

  “You knew I was one of the originals?” Kieran bobbed his head, smiling like a loon. “I kind of pieced it together. So which life are you on? Do you remember any of your others?”

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  “You are my Infinity,” Lynk blurted. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly but kept his eyes closed as he spoke again. “We are literally two parts of a whole—one soul in two bodies—Twin Flames.

  I’ve led three previous lives, but this is only the second time I’ve found you.”

  The silence stretched on until Lynk couldn’t stand it anymore.

  Opening his eyes and preparing for the worst, he was surprised to find Kieran still smiling at him. Maybe the guy was in shock and the expression had been frozen in place.

  “Stop worrying, sugar. It actually makes a lot of sense. When I first saw you, I felt like I was going to shatter into a million pieces if I couldn’t have you. I didn’t understand why at the time, but I think I’m starting to get it. How old are you?”