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I gazed at him for a long moment, then nodded slowly, swallowing hard. “I know this must be difficult. Having mates of my own, I can’t imagine what it must be like to… to…”Be faced with the bastard child of your mate. The words sat on my tongue but wouldn’t pass my lips. They felt wrong, as sour as tart lemonade.
Had my mother had me before she met her mates? Was it possible she’d cheated on them? Could something worse have happened? No. I didn’t want to contemplate that option. Maybe she’d never accepted these men in the first place. Was it truly possible to reject a mate? I hoped I never had to find out.
“When I first met your mother, I knew instantly she was my mate. I didn’t even need to scent her blood. I was just drawn to her. Becoming blood bound simply sealed the inevitable,” Elan recalled wistfully. “She had long black hair, just like you, but where your eyes are blue, hers were the warmest brown.”
“Like melted milk chocolate.” Bidziil smiled, remembering her fondly, it seemed.
“She was a beauty, but she was also quick-witted, smart, and powerful. You’ve never seen a more stunning sight than watching that woman use her magick—her hair flying around her face, her power pulsing around all of us, and the glint of strength in her eyes.”
“Sounds familiar.” Axel grinned up at me, his dark eyes illuminated by the flickering flames, his hair tousled from when he had chased after his brother earlier. I wanted to comb my fingers through it, but each of my hands were still clasped in my alphas’.
“The day we mated was the happiest day of my life,” Elan whispered, lost in his memory for a quiet moment before he shook himself out of it, and the warmth left his voice. “Sadly, she was only with us a short time.”
“What happened?” I pressed, sure I wasn’t going to like the answer.
Elan looked away, the muscle in his jaw jumping from how he clenched his teeth. Bidziil stared heavenward, tracking the sparks as they reached for the stars.
“How much do you know about shadow touched matings?” Ashkii inquired, folding his weathered hands in his lap in a grandfatherly way.
“Not much, to be honest.” I pulled away from my mates’ grasps and played with the hem of my dress to expel some of my anxious energy.
“With true matings being so rare, the knowledge that’s been passed down is sparse,” Chayton remarked, looking a bit sheepish. Not being well versed on a subject bothered my knowledgeable mate.
“Yes, I suppose that’s true. Women are such a rarity among our kind. Therefore, information on such pairings would be scarce as there are so few documented cases.” Ashkii nodded sadly.
I wanted to ask more, to understand why there weren’t other shadow touched women. I hadn’t questioned it until now, assuming that only the veil keeper, who needed to be a woman, was granted the gift of being shadow touched by the Fates or great spirits. Was that the case? Or was there more to the story I was missing? Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to deviate from the conversation, so I made a mental note to investigate later and paid attention as Ashkii released a sigh and started again.
“True matings among our kind are different from that of other supernatural creatures, especially those between the chosen veil keeper and her mates, her anchors. Being shadow touched requires a certain balance between the good forces in the world and the evil, a balance made all the more precarious for the veil keeper, who travels between realms. To get so close to the shadow realm… well, let’s just say there is a toll.”
“Lorn understands that toll too well already.” Jolon reached over and placed his hand on my knee, his thumb stroking over my skin.
“A cross I’m sorry you must bear, child.” Ashkii shook his head, sorrow etched into the lines around his eyes.
“Your mother suffered a similar fate. We tried our best to anchor her, to shield her from the darkness of her position…” Bidziil paused and scrubbed a hand down his face.
“Unfortunately, your mother couldn’t handle being the veil keeper.” Elan took a sip from his glass. “It wasn’t long after we mated that her behavior became…” He searched for the right term. “Erratic.” The alcohol in his glass sloshed as he downed another mouthful, and he stared into it when it lowered from his lips. “Her moods grew darker, no matter how much we tried to anchor her.”
Bidziil shared a weighted look with Elan, and something silent passed between them. “We tried to keep the balance for her, but soon, we began wondering if there was another mate out there… if somehow our pack wasn’t complete.” Bidziil appeared as if he wanted to be anywhere but here, reliving a painful past, yet I was riveted to the spot, absorbing all they said.
“What other answer could there have been?” Klah sighed, clearly asking a rhetorical question. It seemed as though he’d had this discussion with his fellow elders many times before.
“You see, Lorn” —Elan studied me through the darkness, the fire casting an orange-red hue just bright enough to allow us to see each other— “a shadow touched woman should be able to maintain the balance between good and evil so long as she is anchored to the mortal realm properly. Without those anchors, she’s susceptible to the pull, the lure, of the shadows. The shadow realm may be full of dark creatures, but not everything about it is terrifying. Think of the floaters and how they tempt. Sometimes, temptation is the most dangerous of all,” he advised. “Sin can often taste sweet, and it is easy to be drawn into wickedness without even realizing it.”
For a beat, all we did was stare at each other. A moment after it became awkward, Dason broke the silence.
“Are you trying to warn us?” Dason questioned sincerely. “You know we haven’t all mated with Lorn yet.”
“Things are much worse in the world today than they were when Lorn’s mother was with us. The veil keeper’s job is, and will continue to be, more taxing than what my mate had to deal with. I suggest you bond with her and bond quickly, less Lorn befall the same fate as her mother.” Bidziil’s pointed look was weighted as he glanced at each of us, the responsibility of our mating resting more firmly on our shoulders than it ever had before.
As much as I didn’t want to rush our matings, I also didn’t want to chance dancing with the darkness that was already stirring deep within me. I’d had a taste of it more times than I probably should have, and Bidziil was right. It did taste good. It feltgood too. But dark magick had always scared me, and for good reason. There was a reason we were scared off of it at a young age. Those who dabbled with it didn’t tend to live very long, and I had too much to live for, thank you. Six men, to be exact.
And all the things we can do with our mouths,Axel helpfully supplied through the mental bond Dason was keeping open just enough to allow us to communicate when needed.
I choked on a laugh, coughing to cover the startled giggle that wanted to bubble up. I blushed hard, trying not to remember the way his tongue had felt between my thighs. This was neither the place nor the time to allow my pheromones to get away from me.
Really?Kota griped.That’s what you have to add to this conversation?I could practically feel him rolling his eyes at his brother.
Things were getting a little heavy, and it made Lorn smile, so yeah.Axel leaned back against my legs.She needed the break in tension.
