28

W ith all the information that Slate was finally able to uncover, I forgot the other part of Leera's surprise. I meant to talk to her about this one, so she wouldn't be blindsided, but it's too late now. I didn't even remember to give my men a heads-up.

Khaos walks into the room like he owns the place as I follow in behind him.

“Men, you know Khaos; and Leera, I believe you've met,” I begin, trying to break the ice, but it falls flat. Leera's crossed her arms across her chest in what she thinks is an intimidating pose, when really, she's just pushing her perfect little breasts up higher in the air.

“Care to share with the class, Boss,” Benny grunts.

“Not entirely; Khaos, Leera, and I need to have a conversation. Once that's over with, we'll fill the rest of you in.”

I'm met with bewildered stares when I add to my men, It's Leera's business to share with you, not mine.

It didn't help with the confusion on their faces, but it’s lessening the feeling that I left them out of something.

“Shall we?” I ask, directing Leera and Khaos towards the glass doors of the patio.

Leera just nods, arms still wrapped around her chest, and heads towards the door.

Khaos can't help but ruffle feathers and says, “It's okay, boys; we won't be long,” as he waltzes towards the balcony.

I scrub my hand down my face, wondering if I made the right choice. I'll let you know if I decide I'd rather toss him off the building.

That gets me a few chuckles and some additional tension releases from my men, so I move to join the others overlooking the city.

As I step through the patio's glass door, I find Leera quietly fidgeting to my right and Khaos to my left trying to maintain his difficult, indifferent mask, but Leera's presence is clearly affecting him. I wish I had remembered to give Leera the heads up. Khaos, on the other hand, has no idea what's happening and came because I did something I thought I'd never do—I asked him for help.

Closing the door behind me, I turn to Leera. “I hope you don't mind that I asked Khaos to join us for the away game. I meant to tell you so it was a smaller surprise than him just showing up.”

She offers me a tentative smile and nods her head.

“Would you like to tell him, or should I?” I ask her, as a smile I can't control takes over my whole face, causing her to smile as well.

She takes the two steps to reach me, wraps her arms around me, and tips her head back to look me in the eyes. “You can tell him. You two have more history than we do.”

I lean down to kiss her forehead. As I lift my head, I can clearly read the confusion radiating from Khaos.

“Do you feel the bond between the two of you?” I ask him.

His eyebrows come together as he slowly turns his head to look at me, not able to ignore the situation any longer.

“Leera is my mate,” I state plainly and allow him time to absorb what I've just said.

His initial reaction is anger; I can see it taking over his features now. He can feel the bond, but, like me, he hasn’t allowed himself to accept what he believes isn't possible.

“That isn't possible,” he growls.

“Tell me you don't feel it,” I say clearly and calmly, pulling Leera's body to rest against the front of mine.

He shakes his head and growls again as he turns to grip the railing of the balcony.

“I know how you're feeling,” I begin. “I know you think it's not possible, so you think it might be easier to just ignore it. You think maybe you've been cursed or that it's all in your head, but ask your wolf. Our souls know more than we ever will.”

After a moment, I watch as he slowly relaxes and must be accepting the information we've presented him with.

“How is this possible?” His voice can barely be heard with the wind raging around us, but I hear him, and so does my little miracle.

She looks up to me before she pats my arm and pulls away, walking towards where he's standing.

“Hey?” she says, almost making it sound like a question. “Can we sit and talk? It's a lot of information, and when I'm done you can ask me any questions you have.”

He nods and follows her to the patio furniture, where we all take a seat. She starts with her childhood, knowing nothing of werewolves, losing her parents earlier this year, adjusting to college, and then the day we met.

The cool and collected Khaos looks exactly how I felt the day she walked into my life. To be fair, because it's so rare, so few know this is even possible.

She continues explaining that she felt the bond between them and everything we've gone through since, including her kidnapping and India's anger towards her.

The last bit set mine and his blood to boil by the tension in the air, but not enough that it affected Leera.

“And so, if we're not mistaken, you were my soul's brother in a previous life, and we wanted you to know. We don't have to have any specific kind of relationship if you don't want or anything; we—I—just wanted to make sure you knew,” she finishes with an uneasy smile on her face and her head tilting slightly to the right. Her fingers are a little shaky, but she keeps herself together well. I wish I could tell her I am proud of her, using our bond. Soon.

Khaos is scrubbing his hands through his hair, almost as if he's hoping the answers will materialize there and land on the table in front of him.

I use this moment to let him know how much I truly need him in this situation. “The reason I asked you here specifically, instead of having you come to our home, is that I need your help.”

I again wait to allow him all the time he needs to absorb and understand what I'm saying.

His hands fall into his lap as he leans back in his chair. “What is it?”

“With Leera being kidnapped and us still not knowing the extent of the situation,” I’m not ready to tell him everything. “I need to know she's okay when I, or one of my men, can't be there. I know you have your own life and hockey games, but I’m hoping that you can sit with Leera at the game so that she's not alone and so that she's safe.”

“Why me and not one of your guards?” It sounds like he replied automatically without allowing himself to accept what we've told him, and I notice Leera flinches the tiniest amount at his tone.

“Shit, I'm sorry. I'm not good with feelings, Leera. I didn't mean that against you,” he quickly adds, also noticing her reaction.

“To answer your question, as much as I trust my pack guards, they're not prepared for whatever's going on here. I need to know she's safe, and I knew once we told you about the bond, you'd be just as protective of her as I am, or at least that was my hope.”

He allows himself a moment to think. I reach over and take Leera's hand in mine, pulling her out of her seat and into my lap so I can hold her.

“How did you know? How did you accept it?” he asks, and I can feel the anguish he still feels over Imogen.

“I didn't. Even with my wolf raging in my mind that she was our mate, I didn't allow myself to believe it because it couldn't be true.” I pull Leera even tighter to me. “Until my elder came and told me that it has happened in history, but only a few times. She said witches cannot recreate any of our sacred bonds, and that at the end of the day, our wolf knows.”

He nods again, and for a few minutes, I think that's all the reply that he'll give us.

“And after everything, you didn't keep her from me?” he asks me with an ancient pain in his voice that I know all too well.

“It was never my goal to keep her from you. We just wanted to build our life together, and you didn't want that for us. We both lost her five hundred years ago...” I allow myself a moment to rein my emotions back in. “And we both deserve this second chance with her now.”

Leera’s small hand cups the side of my face and pulls me until my eyes meet hers, then brings my forehead to hers for a moment as if she's trying to speak to me too.

“I may not be the one you lost, but I'm here now. I may not know my wolf yet, but I will. I just want us all to be happy and safe.” Her sweet voice and kind touch anchor me in the moment.

Khaos looks to Leera and says, “I'd like to join you for the game, if you'll have my company?”

“Yes!” she squeals. “Though this kind and charming thing is kind of weirding me out. I think I like cocky and obnoxious Khaos better,” she jokes, causing us all to laugh.

When was the last time we laughed together, Khaos and I?

As if he heard me, we lock eyes for a moment before it's broken by the sound of Leera's stomach growling. We both snap our heads in her direction.

“What? Serious conversations make me hungry.”

And we're laughing again, and I stand from my seat, bringing Leera with me. I lift her up and allow myself to nuzzle her neck before setting her back on her feet.

“What would you like to eat, Sweetheart? I don't think there's anything they don't have here in Dover.”

“Oh gosh. You know I can never decide. Can't you let the guys pick? As long as it's not spicy, I'll be fine,” she retorts.

“I know just the place,” Khaos announces.

While Leera gets ready to go eat dinner with all of us but Slate—who wants to hang back and make sure he's not missing anything—Khaos and I catch my men up on the conversation we had outside, after getting Leera's permission to tell them.

Benny had already picked up on the situation. Andrei looked frustrated. The twins are still adamant they don't want to go all mushy for a mate of their own. And Slate was, well, Slate. At least now they all know.

The next step will be sitting down and discussing everything that he found with Leera and maybe Khaos too. If he's going to help keep her safe, he needs to know what's going on.