Page 30 of Between Imminent Fates

The last conversation they had came storming back into mind. She’d called him fragile. Said she couldn’t risk him. Her words had set off a chain of events that she hadn’t foreseen. As she reached for those visions, she realized that Jax had been notably absent. That fact terrified her.

“You may not have meant it that way, but I see you, Key,” he said. “You’re so, so alone, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. As a human, I was a liability. I changed that.”

She simply let him hold her, her knees shaking. Too long she’d waged the fight against the sins of theCitizensalone, without even the solace of a confidant.

And here was Jax, supporting her without fail.

Inhaling his scent, she fisted the soft cotton of his shirt. The tsunami of visions threatened to separate her from the world, and holding tightly to Jax was the only anchor available.

Letting her fear fall away, she relaxed as he tightened his embrace.

The stress that’d built in the wake of Jax’s disappearance ebbed, leaving behind the familiar burden of her plans. Soon, she’d have a conversation with Nero that would determine the course of the war. It had been planned for centuries—and would take every ounce of her focus.

Jax’s fingers gently combed through her hair, and her eyes closed, the tickle of sensation against her scalp incredibly soothing. When the man holding her had vanished, Key had put everything on pause, including the daunting conversation to come. It was an unprecedented action throughout the centuries of responsibility that weighed on her shoulders.

She found herself warring with the foreign sensation of desire; Jax’s otherworldly appeal was off the charts. It had been ages since she’d allowed herself to be intimately involved with someone. Protecting the future had simply been more important—and a way to escape seeing another person she cared about die.

Retreating from Jax’s embrace, she studied the way his stunning hazel eyes softened as he regarded her. The way they dipped to her lips while his tongue darted out to wet his own. A hesitation as he leaned forward, then paused, searching her eyes.

His intention was clear.

Before she could think better of it, Key lifted onto her toes and pressed her lips against his. Desire swelled from a trickle to a tide in moments, overwhelming her reason as she balanced precariously against those soft lips.

Slowly, his corded arms cinched around her waist, claiming her irrevocably as his mouth worshipped hers. Nothing could’ve prepared her for the sensation. Jax was devouring her, and she was gleefully letting him.

As his mouth moved against hers, a thread of uncertainty pinged through her mind. Pulling on the string, she discovered the unraveling tapestry beyond. Her own feelings were a mess, and she couldn’t begin to fathom what that meant for him. Her heart thumped as she thought about the effects of Jax’s position through the muddied waters of her own emotions.

Leading him on hadn’t been her intention. She’d asked many things of him, and in doing so, she may have unintentionally ruined his life. Though he was immortal now, she had never wanted their relationship to be the reason behind his compliance.

As concern forced its way through the desire that’d greenlit his kiss, Key’s enthusiasm wavered. Immediately, Jax withdrew, frowning at her. Before he could speak, she said ruefully, “I have to go.”

“Did I do something you weren’t comfortable with?”

“No, Jax.” Key shook her head. Reaching up, she gently brushed her thumb along his jawline. “When I realized you were missing, I dropped everything to find you. In a few minutes, I have to speak with my sovereign about something he won’t like. I can’t stay here with you—as much as I want to.”

Zeus brushed up against them in that moment and gave Key reason to stop speaking. While she attempted to work through the complicated feelings that’d forced their way into her mind, Jax spoke once more.

“Do you need backup?”

A chuckle broke through the building tide of angst inside her. “No, but I appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, I have to do this alone.”

Capturing her hand, he pressed a kiss into each knuckle. “I simply want to help, Key. You tell me what you need, what I can do to help, and I’ll follow through. I’m no longer fragile.”

He never had been.

“You already are helping, Jax. Getting your commander to us will be the last part of a grander plan—and the list you retrieved is already putting things into motion. It’s been vital, and just hours ago, teams of immortals deployed to those locations. We have finally been able to rescue the wolves in those facilities who aren’t rabid.”

“Good,” he emphasized. “Getting them to safety is exactly what needed to happen.”

“The ones who’ve survived are finding dens to belong to,” she said. “But you—you’re now a wolf without a pack, Jax.”

“I’ve been alone a long time. This is nothing new.”

Her chest constricted. A werewolf without a pack was very different from a human who’d chosen solitude. Before long, Jax would need the den structure to support his development. Explaining that to him would have to wait until she knew more.

Key lifted her gaze to meet his without skittering away. What she saw in him was stubborn will and an enviable tenacity that was his by merit. When fate had cast their futures together, it hadn’t chosen wrong. Though Key knew where her path would lead, his was indiscernible. All she knew was that she trusted him—to any end.

“When I come over tomorrow night, we can talk.”

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