Page 29 of His Impossible Elf Mate
“I do. I feel like there is something around the corner,” Teagan affirmed.
“You should tell them about the betas,” Hakeem said. The normally stoic elf had a glint of mischief twinkling in his dark eyes.
“Perhaps you should,” she shot back. “You clearly want to. Though I am unsure whether the Alpha Mate would want us discussing this information.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“The shifter council knows, soon the rest of the pack will.” Hakeem turned to include me and Ívarr in the conversation. “Roan and his fated mate have bonded—“
“That’s wonderful news!” I cried.
”—they have also bonded with the betas, Tate and Asher. They have the first shifter poly bond.”
A long silence followed those words.
“A poly bond with fated mates?” I asked.
At the same time Ívarr spoke, “these betas had the sickness?”
“Yes, and yes,” Hakeem was grinning. “What are the odds that an alpha female would be born to a pack with the highest amount of betas who contracted the sickness—?”
“But Tate and Asher were not members of the pack when they contracted it,” Teagan added.
“No, that makes it more unusual. The hands of fate have much to do with this,” Hakeem mused.
“This may not be enough to aid us with parliament. They insist the existence of an alpha female is dangerous.” Ívarr reminded us of the principal source of our troubles.
“I have been researching the scrolls I was permitted to remove from the archives. They have been illuminating and I believe the evidence there, added to the new poly bond, is a sign we are on the right path.” Hakeem went to the tablet device he had taken to using.
“Here it shows violent incidents between shifter groups and, indeed, humans were lower, with an alpha female as a leader of a pack. It should not be a stretch to convince the queen that their society is similar to ours in that way.”
This was a step in the right direction. All we needed to do was buy ourselves some time. I felt certain the goddess would show us what she was keeping hidden.
“So? What are our next steps?” Ívarr asked my friends. His support meant the world to me. This was a demonstration of his acceptance I had only dreamed of getting since our disagreement.
I went to Ívarr’s side and squeezed his shoulder. “Thank you, my friend, for coming to me with this and trying to help me stay with Axel for a little longer. I am sorry for how things have been between us.”
He grasped my arm in our people’s handshake. “My pride prevented me from apologizing sooner. I truly am sorry, Teárlach. As soon as I am able, I will mend things with Axel. I have been colder than he deserves. Truly, I regret my harsh words and distance. You have never been happier than when you are with Axel. I think I felt some jealousy because I have yet to find such a bond.” He gave a wry grin. “Rest assured, I support you and will do what it takes to stay here in Sweetwater. In my heart, I believe this is where we are supposed to be.”
I felt the truth of his words settle over my heart. The elves here had all expressed a love of the pack and the shifters within it. I was sure they would resist any attempts at harm from other elves.
“Pretty words and apologies done!” Teagan cheered. She hugged us both. “Now we need to take this evidence before the queen. We should also see if there is anything in the archives about poly bonds in shifters. It’s so unusual it should buy us some more time here. We are so close to our breakthrough, I can almost taste it.”
“Yes. I feel certain this is the path we have to follow,” I agreed. “Though I should stay here so they do not try to keep me there. I should stay by Axel’s side.”
Ívarr nodded. “I will return to the beta sickness research with your help. Teagan and Hakeem will take news of the poly bond and the research Hakeem hasconducted to parliament and our queen. They will buy us the time we need to reveal our true purpose here.”
With our reconciliation complete, we parted to fulfill our duties.
The room was dark by the time I crawled into bed alongside my lover. We had given up any pretense that I lived anywhere else. All my things now resided in Axel’s wardrobe or dresser. In truth, I had very little with me, making it all the easier to slot into Axel’s suite.
Moonlight illuminated my path to the bed, throwing the long line of Axel’s bare back into relief. My heart nearly stopped at how beautiful he was, lit in such a way. He was made for moonlight and shadows, they created such a stunning contrast.
I threw off my clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor in my desperation to feel his skin next to mine.
Drawing him close, I wrapped my arms around him. He made a small sound of pleasure in the back of his throat and nuzzled closer. There were times when I felt his wolf close to the surface, like this particular moment. I felt just how much his alter loved me, almost as much as the man.
All the talk of leaving Axel to avoid a war threatened to break me. This shifter was more than my lover,he was my reason for existing. The long years of my life had felt empty until he arrived. Now, I knew with certainty, I would fade from this life without him.
