Page 84 of Burn of Obsidian

Mating with Thea while unconscious wasn’t something he’d planned. Nor was Thunder taking over his body. But then again, the beasts by design were impulsive. They run by pure instinct, and mating to Thea was the loophole to the curse that hung like a guillotine above each Guardian’s head. Because of the mating, he was no longer at risk of becoming a slave to Hadriel. A narcissistic angel chained to a realm created as his own prison, also known as Hell.

He knew Thea was his mate within moments of meeting, his beast pausing at the sound of her voice. Their mating was inevitable. Thunder just moved up the timeline.

“You should’ve seen the skill,” Ruhne gushed, sitting on Thea’s shoulder. “That cat-guy can really flip bottles!”

Thea leaned against one of the kitchen counters, her smile genuine when she quietly replied to the pixie. There was still grief there, because Jax could feel it. It was like their souls were connected by a thread, the warmth that had spread through him intensifying by her proximity. But he was sure it should be stronger, as if something was blocking it.

Her eyes pinned him with a glare when she found him staring. Something fluttered down the connection, like a prickling that was her telling him to fuck off.

Mine. He wasn’t sure the thought was his, or Thunder’s.

Jax wanted to fucking grin, except Thea strangled the connection between them until he could barely feel her.

“So, she wasn’t kidding about absorbing some of your essence,” Alice said, her frown deepening when he finally turned his attention to her. She was sitting on the sofa beside him, Riley an overprotective shadow behind.

“I told him he couldn’t stay over,” Thea muttered, probably low enough she didn’t expect anyone to catch. Except both he and Riley had superior hearing.

“There’s a little of your aura missing,” Alice continued, blinking away her third eye. “But you’ll replace it naturally. I think it would take continuous and constant touching to cause any lasting harm.”

“It was an accident.” A blush darkened Thea’s cheekbones, and he found himself staring once more. He’d woken to the taste of her on his tongue, her scent still on the sheets she’d quickly thrown in the washing machine. There was a dull ache where he was missing some of his aura, but he’d happily suffer if it got her on her back again, with his tongue and fingers prepping her for his cock.

‘Kace is the unstable one,’ Riley said, his tone irate even in the mental connection. ‘Yet it’s you that’s losing control.’

Jax had to drag his eyes away from his mate, only to meet the silver ones of his Alpha. ‘I’m fine.’ He’d already shoved Thunder to the back of his mind, so he knew Riley couldn’t see him in his irises.

‘Kace mentioned your leg.’

Jax was going to punch Kace in his big fucking mouth.

‘Sythe said the damage was from a hound,’ Riley continued. ‘He was concerned.’

He was going to punch Sythe, too. ‘I’ve sorted it.’

‘You have to report these things so you can fucking rest.’ Riley’s beast glimmered, and it took everything for Jax to hold Thunder back. ‘Despite everything, we’re not fucking invincible, J.’

‘I said I’ve sorted it.’ His thigh had healed to the point it wouldn’t split open. Which was enough. Within a few days, the threads would be pushed out, and the skin would be ready to tattoo again.

‘When’s the last time you’ve slept? And being knocked out doesn’t count.’ At his silence, Riley glanced at Thea.

‘She’s mine,’ Jax growled, fighting the sound that threatened to vibrate through his throat.

‘No shit, you’ve been stalking this place for months, and you’ve had Ti tracking her every movement since the gallery.’ Riley smirked, but there was still anger there. ‘I can feel a mating between you, but it’s not finished.’

“Are you guys somehow talking? Or you just into some serious eye contact?” Thea asked, crossing her arms. “Because either way, it’s super weird.”

Alice burst into laughter, standing up from the sofa. “She’s funny, you should keep her.”

Jax simply grunted in reply, daring Riley to say anything. He’d confirmed what Jax had suspected. Thea was strangling their mating somehow.

It didn’t matter either way, because it was too late to change. He would finish what Thunder had started; he just had to be patient.

“The museum was attacked last night,” Riley said aloud, frowning as Reaper jumped into Jax’s lap like he belonged there. “Gideon walked in along with ten Skulls and took the page on display.”

Ruhne hopped off Thea’s shoulder, his wings silent as he hovered by her side. “Skulls? Like that skeleton-face?”

“You’re familiar with them, then?” Riley asked.

Thea glanced at Jax. “Yeah, something like that.” The bruises around her neck had already turned yellow, partially hidden beneath the high-necked dress she’d thrown on. “What are they?”

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