Page 214 of A Soul to Embrace

“He didn’t kill your brother,” she muttered quietly, but her lips did flatten, unable to deny what he’d stated.

“I removed that commandmonthsbefore it happened,” he informed them. “Sure, it’s still my fault for issuing it, but I attempted to stop my destruction of Mavka. I wasn’t pleased when they brought me the winged one’s skull, and in fact, I punished them for it to ensure word spread faster that I’d undone it.”

“You revoked your order?” Merikh asked, the red in his orbs dimming.

“I did it before I last spoke to you on Earth. I realised destroying Weldir wasn’t the way to get what I wanted and had already planned to abandon Earth with or without you.” Then Jabez’s brows drew together as something became startlingly apparent. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Merikh bit out.

“Weldir brought that Mavka back to life.”

Merikh’s orbs flooded with dark yellow as he stepped back on a shaky leg. “What?”

“I was surprised, too, when I heard of it,” Jabez admitted, as he softened the stab of his sharp nails on Raewyn’s pretty face. “But Lindiwe confirmed it.” He shook his head as an annoyed chuckle came from him. “You fucking attacked me and tried to prevent us from entering the city when your brother still lives.”

“He stilldied.” Then he folded his arms across his chest with a scoff. “You deserved me hitting you for a lot of reasons.”

Maybe that was true, and Jabez couldn’t deny it. He had much to make up for regarding Merikh, but he waswillingto try.

Now that things were calming, he slowly removed his hands from the scientist. She stumbled forward against the edge of the counter, and Merikh quickly rushed to her when it appeared like she’d fall.

But Jabez’s temper was still high; he was annoyed, and he despised the way his fractured cheek throbbed. A bruise was rising and blood dripped from a rather nasty gash.

The fact that Merikh nearly had a hand in endangering Zylah, when Jabez had been trying everything to protect her, had anger burning in his muscles.

He teleported right in front of Merikh, and with the force of them approaching each other, he kneed the Mavka right in the groin. Merikh choked and then wheezed as he cupped right where his seam would be. The hit had been so hard that it sent the guy to his knees and the bottoms of his orbs wavered when they turned white.

“Control your fucking temper,” Jabez warned, giving him a steely glare as he looked down. “Especially with your mate nearby.”

Then again, Jabez knew he was being a hypocrite. Unashamedly, he often was.

“I should kill you,” Merikh quietly growled up at him.

Jabez crouched down next to him, although wisely out of reach. “Can’t kill something that doesn’t die,” he answered with a sickly sweet smile. “I’m a Phantom now, Merikh. Zylah has ensured I’m untouchable. The ability to teleportandturn into a Phantom? Could you imagine what violence I could have unleashed had they thrown me from the city? They were wise to approve us, otherwise the next time we met, it would have beenme ripping into your mate just tohurtyou for getting in the way.”

Then Jabez placed his hand on Merikh’s shoulder and teleported them both next to Raewyn’s side. It got him out of the way so Jabez could put space between them after materialising next to the door, and it allowed the couple to be together after the mess Merikh had caused.

“You have no idea who she is, do you?” Merikh stated with a chuckle, slapping his hand on the counter next to Raewyn to support his attempt to rise.

Jabez looked at the pathetic way the Mavka had shakily gotten to his feet. He inwardly winced.Perhaps I did knee him just a smidge too hard.He bet rage was simmering beneath the surface of his agitated, flared muscles and fur.

“Should I?” Jabez asked, tilting his head.

“Merikh, don’t,” Raewyn whispered before nibbling at her bottom lip.

“I thought you were lying or just insane, but you actually don’t remember,” he said with a wheeze. “I never picked you for having memories missing in that stupid fucking head of yours.”

She’s a councilmember, a scientist that took over my mother’s work, and knows different languages like my stepfather.It didn’t take him much to figure it out.Is her surname the same as...?

The laugh that burst out of him almost had him keeling over. “Let me guess, she’s my half-sister?”

The little girl whose face had only recently been haunting his dreams. He should have picked it, considering the familiar hair and scent, but she’d only been, what, seven when he’d been taken away permanently? How was he supposed to know what she’d look like at thirty-two?

We don’t even share the same last name.Jabez had his mother’s name, and he’d been the only one to use it even whenshe’d chosen her life partner in Doctor Daefaren. His stepfather refused to properly adopt him, a Demon spawn, or maybe no one had thought to do so yet. Regardless, the lack of action from his ‘parents’ had weighed heavily on his conscience.

“Why the fuck should I care?” Jabez countered, causing her sweet face to twist into hurt. “We were children when I last spoke to her, and much has changed. I let go of my family when I was rotting in my prison cell.”

If she wanted some fateful, long-awaited hug from him, she was poorly mistaken. Jabez had no affection for her, nor anyone from his past.

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