Page 38 of Between Imminent Fates

“No.” The adamant command was hardened by her look. “Knock it off. You’ll tell me why you’re barely sleeping. Why you’ve closed yourself off. Why your smiles are fake, even when Isaak is being adorable, and why you’ve lost interest in playing your violin.”

She’d noticed, Isaiah thought.Of course she had.

Expelling a heavy breath, he stiffened when Rukia’s hands came around him and she whispered in his ear. “I’ve got you. Just rest for a moment.”

So he did.

Letting his limbs go limp, he set his forehead on her shoulder and closed his eyes. The chill of the water frothed along his skin where he was buoyed by Rukia’s arms. It was a sensual caress now, and he was certain that was her doing.

His mate was always taking care of him, regardless of his failures. “What Key’s given me, what I’m to do: it’s taken a toll.”

“And you can’t share it with me?”

Beneath the waters that pooled around them, Isaiah’s arms linked around her waist. “No. I can’t. I want for nothing more than to be able to tell you, but I just—I can’t.”

Exhaustion beat at the door to his mind, throbbing between his temples. Had they not been neck deep in water, he’d have eagerly fallen asleep in her embrace.

Instead, he told her the only thing he could. “Key has assured me you and Isaak will live if everything goes to plan.”

“Is that all you care about?”

“Of course that’s all I care about,” Isaiah scoffed, his arms shooting out to tread water once more and rear back to study her features. “Nothing else matters—only you and Isaak.”

“And your clan?”

“Ourclan will prosper regardless.”

As Rukia’s distaste for his reply mounted, the waters began to churn around them in response to her gift. A tribute to her skill, the element absently reacted to her emotions.

“You’re right,” came her snide answer. “Without you,myclan will prosper because I totally wear the pants in this relationship.”

A spark of lust followed her cheeky comment, swallowing his earlier fragility. “I can think of something else to do with your pants. You better watch your six.”

“Oh, I’m shaking in my rain boots,” she mocked. “The big, bad, scary Raeth is threatening me. Someone save me!”

“Nobody saves you but me.”

Isaiah captured her lips with a possessive kiss, silencing whatever sarcasm was about to make an appearance. Fire drummed between them as she responded eagerly, her fingernails biting into the hard muscle of his back. Her legs locked around his waist, securing together behind his back as she explored his kiss.

Their mating bond flared with passion, desire flaming through their link and compounding with every sensation they shared. Isaiah clutched her to him, desperate, and cherished every moment he spent in her company.

Isaiah belonged to her and always would.

Chapter Thirteen

Jax

Despite the oppressive humidityof the early April day, Jax’s hands were clammy on the steering wheel. It’d been several days since Key had shared his part to play today, and each hour spent waiting for the inevitable had been a struggle.

Surrendering his commanding officer would effectively eliminate the facility where he was stationed. While they were gone, several auxiliary teams would oversee the other aspects of the operation. Sobell was being taken care of—and Jax had been assured that wouldn’t be a death sentence. Key had said that suggestion, a vampire gift, would be utilized to strip his memories.

Dismantling the kennel had begun the moment they’d left. He’d seen several people manifest on site in his rear-view mirror as they drove away. Nothing could have made him happier.

The previous week, he had provided Key the kennel’s schematics and noted which cells held wolves that weren’t rabid. Every day, Jax had reassured them that help was coming—and now, it was finally happening. Jax was thankful that Rayn hadn’t returned, and Barlowe hadn’t infected those that were still sane.

In the seat behind him, the Colonel remained silent.

Jax had veered off course ten minutes ago, but the officer hadn’t yet looked up from his phone. When he recognized he’d been duped, there would be hell to pay.

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