Page 45 of Between Imminent Fates

“I never watch the people I love die.” The truth was like poison on her tongue, a secret she could barely stand to acknowledge. “When I was two centuries old, my parents were slain by a group of clanless Raeths. They had been cataloging weaponry—merjhas—at the time and were taken by surprise.”

Throat closing with the emotion welling within her, she admitted, “I never saw it. No flash of a vision to warn me, no foreboding sense of doom.Nothing. Once I could think clearly, I thought it must’ve been a fluke, but as I got older, I realized the truth. A century later, I watched as Azazel, a man I’d come to love, was slain by a rogue shifter. Like the time before, I hadn’t seen even a snippet of that future. He still died, and there was nothing I could do about it.”

As his palm gently cupped her face, she continued, “Jax, I’m blind to those I love. That’s why I’ve always stayed one step apart from people, never truly letting them in. The closer I let someone get, the less chance I’ll have to foresee their future.”

She studied the micro-expressions on Jax’s face as he took it in.

For centuries, Key had been unable to see Luna’s future, and she was nearly blind to Nero’s. Eden’s arrival had helped in that regard. It had evened out Key’s strong relationship with her sovereign enough to see snippets of a future where both could prosper. But the truth remained: seeking visions about those she cared the most about was difficult, if not impossible.

Jax stirred. “Do you find that frightening or comforting?”

“Both,” she replied honestly. “On one hand, it’s a relief: having to watch someone you love die over and over again is a hell all to itself.”

“And on the other?”

“On the other hand, I can never warn them. It’s a curse.”

Chapter Sixteen

Jax

Killing the engine, Jaxsat silently in the driver’s seat of the Humvee. Ever since he’d assumed his new role, a strange sense of melancholy had settled over him. His wolf kept pacing inside him, agitated, and he couldn’t seem to shrug off the feeling.

Key had requested he meet her here last night as she was leaving, and Jax had decided to arrive more than an hour in advance. For the first time ever, he was going to intentionally transform into his wolf. Setting his jaw, he exited the Humvee and toed off his boots.

Though Key had said he could transform without shredding clothes, he’d brought an extra set of fatigues just in case.

Steeling himself against what was to come, he jogged barefoot into the greenery in front of his car. Avoiding the sparse population of poison ivy, he dodged behind a tree and set his back against the bark.

Calling on his predator, Jax gave himself over to his wolf.

The excruciating euphoria of the shift was instantaneous. His center of balance shifted, driving him onto four legs as the beast took over. Muscle and bone twisted, reformed. Oddly, the agony of it all mingled with a surprising sense of relief.

This time, it was a partnership, not a battle.

Breathing hard following the swift change, Jax centered himself on four legs. He felt every sensation the wolf catalogued as an afterthought. He shook his coat to resettle his fur and then bolted for the hills.

The simple freedom he experienced as the animal was without equal. For his wolf, everything was simpler. Concepts that would’ve driven him mad on two legs made sense on four. Everything was straightforward, black and white, yes or no.

When Jax finally loosened his death grip on control, it became easier for them both.

It was over an hour later that he heard her. He’d been running a loop around the park, never wanting to be too far away from their meeting point. Even at a distance, the fresh mint fragrance invaded his senses and made him howl with pleasure. As he circled around, another scent on the wind made him cock his head in question.

Two people approached.

A strong smell of spiced evergreen, barely winning out over the oppressive miasma of power that accompanied it.

It took him several minutes before he skidded to a stop a safe distance away, his wolf reluctant to move closer until he was certain the second Raeth wasn’t a threat to Key or himself.

The Japanese man studied him, no expression on his features except for apathy. Dark brown eyes speared through him, assessing, while he reclined leisurely against the Humvee’s hood. The pose was deceptively lazy: he knew that if he so much as set a paw wrong, the man would be at his neck in seconds.

Jax’s fur bristled in warning at the supernatural threat. Even as his wolf fought the urge to snarl, the animal noticed the lines around the male’s eyes, the exhaustion that seemed to resonate in his bones.

“Jax?”

Key’s voice instantly captured his attention. Rather than shifting back, the wolf trotted over to her eagerly, brushing up against her legs. She let loose a giggle.

The instant her fingers sunk into his coat, Jax was in heaven. Arching his back, he savored every second she spent on his downy-soft fur.

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