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What exactly is Church in such anguish over that it’s eating him up from the inside?
“Have you met your Fated?”
He nods and then scoffs. “I think I have,”
“How is that possible when you’re only 180 years old?” I ask incredulously.
Only vampires over 200 years have the privilege of meeting the ones the Goddess Nyx has chosen for us. Unlike the slaves of the moon, we do not get something called a second chance mate or Fated; once they die or if you don’t meet them at all, then that’s it.
You’re doomed to walk your eternity alone. Valentine lost his, so he will not get another one, and I have a feeling mine died centuries ago.
“I don’t know, but I see the Red Thread as clear as I see the Green one,” he sighs, then turns his head towards me. “The problem is, I don’t want to be Fated to them because that means I lose my place at your side.”
“How would you lose your place at my side? Has she told you to choose between the nest and her?” I ask, getting more pissed off by the second. I don’t think I like his Fated if she’s already starting this bullshit.
But he shakes his head and lowers it again. “My Fated isn’t female,” he scoffs.
I pull him back, so he’s looking right at me. “You think that you’d lose your place at my side because the Goddess chose a man to be your Fated? Do you really think that little of me, Nikolas?”
He laughs sadly. “My Fated isn’t male either,” he says. Then seeing my confusion, his face screws up in agony, and he sighs. “Xenia doesn’t identify as either male or female; no one knows that about them.”
The bottle of Jack slips from my hand and crashes to the floor when I realize what he’s said, and silence follows. If he had a heart I know it would be beating frantically as he waits for me to say something, but what do I say to that?
What do I say to the fact that the person he said he’d killed when the baobab left their system, is actually alive and his Fated?
“You lied to me?” comes out before any other comforting words, and I can see him pale.
If Xenia is his Fated, then he won’t be able to harm her – er them, since he’s ingested their blood, but if they haven’t ingested his, then the Bond is one-sided until they do.
His earlier question of not being able to carry out an order from your Maker makes sense now, but I never asked him to kill Xenia. I told him to do whatever he wanted to them to satisfy his need for vengeance.
If he tasted Xenia’s blood the same night I let Katherine go; then he’s been lying to me about killing them. If there’s one thing I am slow to forgive, if ever, it’s lying right to my face.
He gets to his feet and starts pacing. “I didn’t… know how to tell you, Pres,” he says, swiping a meaty hand over his face. “It’s not like I haven’t tried, but there’s something else you should know, and I will understand if you kill me.”
I feel a low growl vibrating in my chest and swallow my anger down. “Something worse than lying to me? Please, go right ahead.” I say, sitting back and looking at one of the only two people I trust with my life.
“Xenia escaped the wine cellar last night; there was a window concealed by an ancient wine rack, and they…” he takes a step back from me when I get up and start stalking towards him, my vision red and fury burning hot in my veins.
“So not only did your Fated escape their binds hours ago, but you weren’t going to tell me about it? You weren’t going to mention that they’ve probably alerted the guild hunting us by now and that our nest is in danger?”
“Pres—”
I grab him by the throat and slam him hard against a stone pillar. “Did you not think that I needed to know this?! Everyone will be dead because of you! Fuck sakes, Church!” I roar, watching the hopelessness slip into his eyes.
“I know that!” he exclaims, grabbing at my hand. “I fucking know that! But I didn’t know what to do, Gabe. I didn’t… I didn’t know—”
“Enough!” I exclaim and throw him to the floor. “I have to go and clean up your fucking mess before I no longer have a nest to return to. Lock up.” I say, then storm out of the place like the fucking devil was chasing me.
There will be consequences for Church later; I have my nest to protect right now.
GABRIEL
“Ineed your pack here within the next hour,”
“Consider it done.”
I get off the phone with the second pack sending their Beta warriors to protect my estate if hunters have to invade. Andreas is aware of the predicament as well and will be sending three Lycans to help us, but that’s all he can offer right now since Fenriz is in Norway.
