5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Remmus grabbed an apple before teleporting to the foyer of his sovereign's home. He'd been there thousands of times since it'd been built, but lately, entering the home felt like he was walking on eggshells. He walked into the living room quietly, wondering what awaited him today.

A healer had been stationed next to Nina since the beginning of her pregnancy, though now that things had essentially leveled out, it'd been easier for them to come and go.

Kaien, her primary medical specialist, looked fast-asleep at the foot of the couch where Nina had her head together with her mate.

Like her mother before her, Nina was carrying twins. This was exceptionally rare for the Raeth species, and whenever a woman carried multiples, her life was always at stake. The first five months of her pregnancy saw his sovereign lose a substantial amount of weight. With it, her energy plummeted, and her ability to maintain the psychic web that connected her clan together had wavered.

At one point, the drain on Nina's resources had started an inversion of energy from the neural web, pulling from her people instead of the opposite way around. It'd worried all of them, though none more than her overprotective mate.

In the end, Zeke, who had a secondary Amp talent, was able to bolster her reserves and solidify the neural net that connected everyone in their two clans. Nina's mate was currently hovering beside her on the couch, the powerful punch of his energy feeding into her, the transfer coming as easy to him as breathing.

Remmus tipped an imaginary hat to Nina, smiling like the gentlemen he'd never been raised to be. "Sovereign. Reporting back."

He instantly had her full attention. Striking features, perfectly proportioned, were framed by glossy brunette hair that fell just below her chin with a slight wavy curl. Her pregnancy had just recently begun to show—and that was concerning, considering that her due date was only two months away.

"Why do I smell blood on you?"

"An unfortunate collision."

"With what?" Nina's glacial blue eyes narrowed, conversation having pressed pause in the room around them to focus on their exchange. She scrutinized every inch of him, shrewd and worried.

"A bullet."

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"The Raeth we previously encountered was at the St. Louis facility when I scanned." Remmus shrug. "He must've taken offense. Needless to say, I don't think we'll be besties."

"What did you find?" Zeke asked.

"He's born of destruction. Unfriendly, without a doubt, and wholly aligned with the Citizens." His lips twisted. "From the brief contact, I couldn't tell with certainty whether he was clanless or not, but my gut tells me that he is. I wasn't able to decipher anything else—we were quickly under fire."

"That's unfortunate."

A muscle in Zeke's jaw tightened, and Remmus instantly knew that his co-sovereign found his report lacking.

Failure.

His nails bit into his palm. When he tried to reply, a spike of pain lanced behind his eyes, momentarily disrupting his train of thought. When he had a spare moment, he'd ask Kaien to check him for silver poisoning. Though Nina said nothing, her eyes had darkened, and he knew she'd seen his display—and had kept his secret.

Nina wouldn't reveal his checkered past, nor tarnish his reputation among his peers. She was the leader he chose to put his trust in, and she had never disappointed him or betrayed that faith—not even through the transition period of learning to co-anchor as a two-sovereign clan. She would wait until he was ready to share his burden—if he ever was.

"We're at a place where we can afford for you to keep an eye on it, Remmus." Zeke filled the silence and gently massaged Nina's hand. "Be careful. We know nothing of the Citizens Raeth's abilities, and this will put you in his firing line."

"Remmus, are you—"

A cringe cut off her words, and three men jumped into action. Kaien leapt to his sister's side, with Hemin, Zeke's head healer, materializing next to her only moments later. After several tense moments with both experts concentrating their considerable energy on her, Nina's face loosened.

Zeke remained focused on his mate as he muttered, "Keep us informed, Remmus."

A dismissal. Dutiful soldier that he was, he left.

Taking a generous bite of his neglected apple, he emerged into the foyer and froze when he saw who was entering through the front door.

"Celeste."

The whimsical woman had tied rainbow ribbons around her fuchsia-colored hair. Guileless, baby blue eyes widened at the sight of him, before either of them remembered to smile in greeting.

Until now, they'd managed to avoid being in a room alone together since he rejected her during the Heat. Clearly, this reunion would take awkward to a whole new level.

"I wasn't aware you were back in clan lands," came her forced small talk as she fiddled with her braid. "I thought you were at the werewolf den for a bit."

"I am." His shrug was anything but casual. "Bringing the paper in like a good pup and I'm off again."

"Oh."

"Yep."

Even Remmus had to admit, this was downright painful. He knew the truth would eventually come out, but speaking about what'd transpired between them seemed wholly unsettling. For a beat, they simply stared at each other, the awkwardness escalating.

"Celeste, about what happened during the Heat—"

Another cry from the living room was his saving grace. Celeste rushed off without a backwards glance, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was not mentally prepared to have a conversation on the topic he'd just broached.

It was best to escape clan lands for now and do as his sovereigns had advised him to. Loathing the subtle throb behind his temples, he reinforced the wall that kept his darkness at bay and reached toward Riaz's psychic signature. The blonde she-wolf he'd taken a shine to was right next to the alpha … and they were sparring.

The teleport across country took only seconds. Beside him, an eager vampire was watching with bloodthirsty glee, grinning like a loon.

Ava was currently wiping the floor with an amused Riaz. Her long, golden hair was pulled into a knot at the back of her head, several tendrils free to frame her breathtaking features.

Shapely, lean legs were corded with enough muscle to confirm her enforcer role. Everything about Ava was enticing, from her narrow waist to the generous curve of her rear—and Remmus thoroughly enjoyed the view.

While he longed to wolf whistle in appreciation, he withheld the urge.

"Shall we make bets?"

"You're about thirty minutes too late to the betting line, Raeth," Cortana snapped back. "Besides, I'd never bet against my mate."

Remmus bellowed a laugh to the ceiling and the vampire echoed the noise. That earned him a scathing look from the blonde beta who'd just realized he arrived. Baring her teeth at him, Ava renewed her efforts against Riaz, tackling with enough force to knock the wind out of the alpha.

And for the first time, Remmus wondered: could he best the woman if they were to challenge one another?