Page 22 of His Impossible Elf Mate
Hiding my wince was hard. “I do. They’re yours though.”
“Are you telling me if you had the choice to go live in Abrocaelum with T, you’d go? You’d leave us behind, settle for only seeing the babies on holidays?” His worry was obvious. “Are you sure you’d be welcome there? The elves here are excited about working with shifters, but I know there are factions in Abrocaelum that don’t want to integrate with us.”
We sat in silence for a while as I thought about what I had to say. Words didn’t come easily. I was the brother that stood watch, stood in the shadows for so long, I blended in. Blake had to understandhow I was feeling.
“Teárlach told me about his people before. I thought if I ever went to spend time with him there, that I could change their minds. It doesn’t matter if I can’t. Being with him would be worth anything they said or did. The babies have all of you. They have Chase. There’s a damn portal here. I could visit every damn day if I wanted.”
I paused to let him process. “The thing is, I’m already at the point where being without him feels like I’d be missing half of myself. So missing the babies growing up would be a small price to pay. They aren’t mine. Sometimes they remind me of what I can’t have for myself.”
“Axel—“
“It’s fine, Blake. Once T helps fix their fertility, maybe he will have to go back. Maybe I’d go with him.”
My admission stunned him. He sat there for a while, his eyes going distant as he communicated with Kade, who clearly had a lot to say.
“Kade says to be careful. He’s not sure Teárlach is telling you everything. There’s things that don’t add up there.” We locked eyes. A lot of unsaid things passed between us. Again, I was grateful The Luna hadn’t made me an alpha. The pressure Blake had always endured would have destroyed me. Something I reminded myself of often.
“We love you and want your happiness, and if that’s him, we’ll do what we can to ensure it.”
“Thank you.” I knew they loved me and this talk had come out of their need to protect me for once. Completely unnecessary, though. Teárlach held all of my heart in his hands already. It was up to him what happened next.
Even if he was hiding something, I was sure it wasn’t a secret mate and a bunch of kids. There wasn’t anything we couldn’t overcome together. I was certain about a future with Teárlach.
“So, how are those plans coming along?” Blake changed the subject. I wanted to hug him for it.
Reminded of them, I went back to the table where I’d dropped them and removed the ward for extra measure.
“All’s good, Dakota,” I said with a grin on my face.
“Thanks, Axel!” he called in return. I could hear him laugh through the door.
“The plans are great!” I set them on the desk and unrolled them. “We need to get you out of this place. It’s a security nightmare with how many people are free to pass through it daily.”
Blake winced. “You’re not wrong. I think part of our sleeplessness is anxiety for the babies’ safety.”
Tired, worried, silver-blue eyes, the same shade as mine, held my gaze. “I can’t put my finger on it, I just don’t trust some of the alphas. We need to get out of here before something happens.”
“Well, luckily, your big brother is amazing!” Blake laughed, the fear receding from his eyes. “And I’vegot you covered.” I pointed at the plans. “Here’s your house, over here. There’s mine.”
“Oh, we’re building you a house, are we?”
“Damn right. I’ve got it set up for six in a semicircle with defensive points.” I pointed to the places on the map.
Blake grinned. “Okay, outline it all for me.”
Bitter Truths
Teárlach
“Your Highness,” Ívarr’s voice carried the short distance between us. I looked around, wary of listening ears. Shifters had such sensitive hearing, elves were hardly any better. I believed some shifters could hear whispered conversations in a crowded room. Thankfully, we were far enough away from anyone else that no one should have heard his mistake.
“Ívarr,” I greeted warily as he reached my side. “I am just Teárlach here. No need for titles and honorifics.”
There was a touch of chiding in my tone. I shouldn’t have to remind my fellow elf and friend of the rules. It had been bad enough with the recent arrivals. All had been sworn to secrecy over my royal status for fear of damaging our rapport with the shifters. For some it was harder than with others to drop the ingrained respect for my status.
“That is exactly what I wanted to speak with you about.” His eyes flashed dangerously with anger.
I took a step back from him, mildly alarmed to see such a passionate response from the usually stoic elf. Ívarr often received praise for his calm exterior. He was the elf my people turned to in a crisis. He was my faithful friend and cousin. I’d never seen him so furious, especially when it was aimed at me.
