“What about Henrietta’s place? Will they stay there?” I asked.

Kieran’s stare held mine. “That’s what they meant by home.” He paused for a moment, and I knew what was coming. “Will you accept it?”

A tear welled in my eye, though I wasn’t sure why. “Yes,” I said softly, and just like that, I knew everything between us had changed.

18

Kieran

Kieran awoke as light filtered into the room. A warm body snuggled up to his side and Alexis’s sweet, feminine fragrance delighted his senses. He took a deep breath and let his head fall toward the window, listening to the soft crash of the distant waves. His body ached because of all the intense love making last night. He’d been a machine. Every time he’d so much as thought about the act of claiming her, all systems had fired up.

Arousal hardened his cock and a flash of desire stole his breath.

There it was again, the need to take his woman until she was panting in pleasure. It was more primal than the usual fire he felt for her. It was a fundamental need to mark the female he’d chosen. And that need had kick-started the foreign part of his magic that had exploded out of him last night. A magic he didn’t understand the purpose of. After climax, it dissipated, leaving no trace of its use behind.

She had liked it, though, so he hadn’t worried about it. Besides, she’d done her own job on him with her magic. She’d strengthened their soul connection. For a brief moment, a weird scene had filled the room—a midnight black line slashed through with glowing blue-purple, pulsing at him. It was Death, waiting to call him home. He could feel his soul’s acceptance of it. Its need to be swept away. And though that should’ve scared him, he hadn’t been afraid. The feeling had been welcoming, as though the great beyond were no big deal. It wasn’t forever, it was just another area one could visit in life.

The logic made no sense, but then, that was often the case with magic.

He pressed his lips gently to her head and slid his fingertips over her exposed upper arm. He listened to her rhythmic breathing, nestled comfortably in his arms. Peace settled over him and the song of the ocean drifted through his blood. Their soul connection hummed softly.

Fuck, he was happy. Staying with her—lying with her—made him content in a way he hadn’t known a man could be.

To love a woman is to admit your ruin, son. You’ll lose your sense, and with it, your dignity. Don’t be a fool like I was.

Kieran swallowed hard and pulled his arm up from around Alexis. That was the warning his father had given him when he was young, one he’d repeated recently, after Kieran’s mother died. He now understood the words in a new way.

Will that happen to me? Will I continue the family tradition by losing my sanity and imprisoning the one I love?

He pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed while grabbing his phone from the nightstand. A few messages waited for him. The first was from Zorn. The kids had settled into their new home easily and had met in Mordecai’s room to discuss how to make the situation permanent. Then Daisy had disabled the monitoring device outside of her door, found the listening device in her room and taken that out, and proceeded to lock herself inside. She hadn’t turned out her light until the small hours of the morning.

Zorn’s message held some strong notes of pride. Apparently, he had installed the devices to see if she’d look for them, but hadn’t actually expected her to find them. She’d proved to be a more cunning and insightful protégé than he’d originally expected.

The last message from Zorn made Kieran smile: She’s plotting something.

The pupil was trying to out-do the teacher. That should keep Zorn on his toes.

He didn’t bother replying. He didn’t want to spoil their games.

The next message was from Donovan: One of the cameras was disabled at Lexi’s house. Can’t tell what knocked it down. Nothing seemed amiss around the property. Don’t think there’s anything to be alarmed about if she’s staying with us.

Donovan again: btw- I bought the kids new laptops. Theirs was beyond shitty. You might get Alexis one.

He frowned as he set his phone aside to slip on some sweats. Scenarios of his father’s people knocking down a camera played through his head. Possibly someone of Flara’s skillset might’ve resorted to such an obvious attempt to create a blind spot, but if that had been the case, Donovan would’ve noticed their intrusion on the property.

He snatched up his phone again, thinking it through as he headed downstairs. Jack waited at the island with an open laptop next to him. His phone sat off to the side and he had a half cup of coffee in front of him. He was manning the mobile security feed for Alexis’s home house.

“Any news?” Kieran asked, heading straight to the coffee pot.

“Breakfast is in the oven.” Jack absently gestured that way, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“I’ll make something fresh, thanks.”

“Did you get Donovan’s message?”

“About the knocked-down camera?” Kieran waited for Jack to nod. “How do you think it happened? Donovan said he didn’t see any cause for concern.”

“The camera caught a brief blur before it went out, like the flap of a wing or something.” Jack scratched his cheek. “The moisture from the constant fog had weakened the bindings and the weight of the camera stretched ’em out. The other cameras needed to be re-secured.” He shook his head, frowning at the laptop. “They were high in the tree and nothing else was messed with—I agree with Donovan’s assessment. I’m more concerned about Amber.” He looked up at Kieran. “If Alexis is planning on hanging around here with us, of course.”

Kieran filled the coffee pot and set it to brewing. He felt a smile as he placed a pan on the stove before opening the fridge. Despite the new threat and mountain of odds and ends he had to see to, at least Alexis would be close. It was one huge worry off of the table.

“She decided to stay,” he said, and couldn’t help the smug tone to his voice.

Jack nodded, going back to surveillance. “Good deal. What are your plans?”

Kieran gestured at the breakfast preparation, feigning a relaxed manner even though he felt anything but. He had to see how far Amber had gotten and try to head her off as well as he possibly could while he continued organizing a war effort with dwindling time and resources. Knowing Alexis could feel his inner turmoil, he needed her effectively distracted so no one would see her resulting worry, all while he played it cool to his peers.

He took a deep breath and focused in on the moment. “I’m making my lady breakfast in bed, what does it look like?”

Jack grinned and shook his head. “Late to the girlfriend game, and you’re still going to make us all look bad.”

Kieran laughed. “That’s because I intend to keep this one.”

He took the eggs out of the fridge, his thoughts slipping back to the danger at hand. “I need to figure out how far Amber has gotten,” he said. “And I have to start putting things in motion. Ready or not, we need to move.” He gritted his teeth. “I don’t know where I’m going to find any more troops. We’re going to be the underdogs in this one.”

If Jack heard the uncertainty in Kieran’s voice, he didn’t let on. “We were always going to be the underdogs, sir. But that’s just fine because the gremlin says we’ll win so long as we have her family on board.” He shrugged. “Thanks to you, we do. We’re good.”

The gremlin was what the guys and Bria had started calling Daisy because of her vicious fighting style.

Kieran wished he could believe Jack—he just didn’t know that they’d be enough. He needed a miracle.

“You and Zorn are on Alexis and the kids today,” he said, cracking an egg. “She’ll probably want to go shopping for the house, which is fine as long as she stays in the dual-society zone and you stay out of sight. We don’t need to help Amber connect the dots. But the second you sense danger, get her out of there. My father is still following breadcrumbs, so I doubt he’ll act just yet, but it’s better to be safe.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kieran paused in whisking the eggs, a pang hitting him center mass. He had wanted to be there for Alexis’s shopping spree, watching her eyes glimmer as she roamed her favorite stores without compromise. He remembered the way she’d argued with herself over that blanket she’d wanted to buy for Mordecai. She wouldn’t have to hesitate anymore. Anything she wanted, he’d give her. Anything in the world. Except, at the moment, his time.

Fire burned in his middle, but he pushed it down. It couldn’t be helped. He was too far on this path to walk away. It wasn’t just about vengeance, anymore. His father needed to be stopped. A lot of people would die if his father’s plans were realized.

Valens had to be stopped, and his allies needed to be torn down.

One thing at a time.

“So long as the coast is clear when she’s shopping,” he said, “let her take as long as she wants. I’ll be furnishing her with a credit card. Make sure she has a good day of it.”

“Of course, sir. She’s great at spreading her good mood. A pity she couldn’t go to better stores, though. Dual-society stores sell cheap crap. It all breaks too easily.”

“Maybe you should be kinder on her things.”

Jack smiled. “Maybe she should gain some muscle and feel my pain.”

Kieran layered the pan with eggs. “You’ll probably live to regret those words.”

He sure hoped so, at any rate. He’d need all the help he could get.

19

Alexis

“Wait. Stop right there.”

I barely heard Bria as I paused in the entryway of my new kitchen. I’d left Kieran’s as noon waved goodbye. While part of me had hated leaving his warm body and exhilarating touch, another part of me was desperately excited to check out my new digs. Like this kitchen.

I had a new kitchen.