Undying Hope (11 page)

She managed a wobbly smile. “Thank you.”

“You may want to hold on to that,” Wolf said as he walked farther into the room. “You have no known Undying kin, which leaves you vulnerable. I will take the responsibility for this bonding.” Wolf glared at Quinn when it appeared he would object. “She is my sister now. You do not have the authority to deny me this. She needs a protector until both of you are safely bonded.”

“Wolf—” Quinn started.

“My clan,” Wolf snapped. “My judgment.”

“Stop!” Haven moved between the men. Two tigers fighting would have been less dangerous. “I don’t understand.”

“He’s trying to make putting me down his responsibility should something go wrong, and I go the way of the meirlock,” Quinn said coldly.

“If you’re king, how do you not have authority to override him?”

“Valid question,” Wolf said as he crouched down in front of her. “I am the Wolf Caden of the Heartland Tribe. While Quinn has rule of the Cadfaels, I have rule of our clan. This is a clan matter, and the responsibility should not be given to someone else.”

Haven could feel the color running out of her face. A few hours ago, Quinn had ended the life of a turned Cadfael. “But I agreed,” she said. “Why are you threatening his life?”

“Precaution,” Quinn said. “Sometimes things go wrong in a bonding, and the
treòir
reacts badly.”

Wolf’s eyes glowed. “You mean like choosing to give up your
treòir
and allowing both of you to wither and die with old age?”

Haven rounded on Quinn. “You said that was a possibility. Not that you were planning on doing it!”

“You don’t understand,” Quinn roared at her. “Changing you into what I am will kill you.”

“You don’t know that,” Wolf said as a deep, guttural growl vibrated in him. “No one else would be willing to risk your wrath to give our Reannon all needed information.”

Haven glared over her shoulder at Wolf before rounding back on Quinn. “You were never planning on changing me?”

“I—” He snarled at his brother. “Get. Out. I will deal with you later.” He waited until a smug Wolf ventured back up the stairs before he shifted to sit on the couch and pulled Haven onto his lap. “I’ve seen many women die in a botched conversion. It is painful and horrible.”

While she wanted to be angry with him, there was more worrying him. If she could sort out what was really going on...

“No need to sort.”

Her eyes went huge when she heard the voice. It wasn’t Quinn exactly, but it could be him. His eyes were glowing an eerie red color and the muscles under them were twitching. Oh dear.
Quinn’s power
was talking to her. “
Oh? Why not?”

A brush of gentle energy flowed through her. “
He’d rather die than see you suffer.”

“And you?”
She winced after she asked because Quinn was looking like he was about ready to explode. “
What do you want?”

The
treòir
twisted around her and through her in a giddy rush. “
I want to see you live. I want to live. I want him to live.”

She wrapped her arms around Quinn’s neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He wasn’t moving, and she wasn’t sure what to make of that. This could be bad. Very, very bad, but this
treòir
was part of Quinn. She wanted to get to know his power. “
What about the suffering?”

“You will survive, and there are ways to limit the pain. He holds valid fears. Do not discount them, but do not discount me.”

Quinn’s eyes flashed gold, and the voice and the feeling of his power surrounding her faded. She captured his face and kissed him before he could start bellowing at her. Quinn was afraid of the conversion. That was enough to make her want to find out more before she went off half-cocked and demand he change her into an Undying. She would be wiser to know what she was getting herself into before jumping in. Quinn might also calm down if he knew what to expect.

He broke the kiss as he glared at her with golden glowing eyes. “Never talk to it again!”

She winced but kept a hold of his face. As scary and intimidating as he was, she needed to pull on her big girl panties. All powerful Cadeyrn was not synonymous with tyrannical brute. She’d seen too much of him to ever think that. “I will do what is best for myself and for my mate.”

“Haven, you will not—”

“I respect you as Cadeyrn,” she interrupted him. “I would appreciate if you started to respect me as your Reannon. We will discuss these things properly.” She bit her lower lip and then smiled at him. “Your power was sweet and very gentle. There was nothing for you to worry about.”

* * * *

Donovan studied her. As his mate, she’d have to come into contact with his power at some point, but damn it, he
knew
how dangerous the
treòir
was if left unchecked. He did not want all of that power accidently getting agitated when she was close. The damage done would be unforgiveable. “It is not safe for you.”

A smile threatened the corners of her mouth. She brushed a strand of hair away from his face and kissed his cheek. “How’s that headache you get when you need to control him?”

He huffed. “I don’t have one.”

“Exactly,” she said and slipped off his lap. “
He
is not going to hurt me anymore than you would.”

Donovan did not like this at all. She should not have any kind of warm and fuzzy feeling toward his
treòir
, but it was there, emanating around her. “You must understand how dangerous my power is.”

“And I do,” she said as she reached down and wrapped her hand around his before tugging to get him to get up. “But I am not Kyros or any other thing you fight. What reason would
your
power have to harm me?”

“Tell her that I am not accustomed to being let out near delicate women, but I will need practice.”

Donovan dragged himself up off the couch as he shook his head. Then he repeated to her what the
treòir
had said. “Do you understand? It’s dangerous for you.”

She tugged him toward the stairs. “I heard you, but it’s not going to squash me into paste. It said it needed practice being gentle. Two very different things.”

“Haven!”

“Quinn!” she shot back before he could finish. “Look, I am not asking you to let it out and take control of you for forever. But I am not going to be denied part of you just because you have hang ups.”

“Haven,” he started again.

She rounded on him from the second step on the stairs. “This is not up for discussion or executive order. I can understand that you need time to process this, and I will give you the time you need, but not forever, pal, unless you plan on doing the conversion. I don’t have forever to wait for you to figure yourself out.”

She was a vicious fighter. That one shot went right to the quick because it was the truth. There should be a “forever ever after” for them. Immortality was part of what he was, and what she was as an Undying’s lifebond. He was still Cadeyrn, and she was not going to worm her way around this just because she had killer curves and enchanting eyes. “I am glad you feel safe enough to tell me exactly what you think, and most matters will be up for debate as needed, but all matters of your safety will be decreed by executive order if necessary.”

“Perhaps I should discuss this with my guardian while we bond?”

“Wolf cannot know things about the bonding process yet,” he snapped at her. “The knowledge jeopardizes his life.”

“Then I will speak with Riordan. He is bonded to his mate, yes?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“You will not go over my head with this, woman!”

“Man,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward off the stairs, forcing him to hold her. “Speaking to Riordan will put the matter to rest for now. If he agrees with me, I will give you time to get used to the idea. If he agrees with you, I won’t bring conversion up again.”

There was no logical defense against that. Riordan was the resident bonding expert, and he’d had the opportunity to read both the
Book of Avalon
before it was lost and the
Book of the Undying
before it had been destroyed.

“I win,”
the
treòir
said. “
Let the woman do what she feels is needed to protect your life. It’s only fair.”

Since when did his power care about fair? He gave up thinking about it and kissed Haven before going up the stairs to have Riordan tell him he was behaving like a childish ass.

Haven lost some of her confidence when she went into the kitchen. She smiled for Riordan as she moved away from the door. “Hello.” Then she turned to the petite blond woman standing next to him. She had big, bright blue eyes, and her features had an odd pixie-like quality to them. The woman was stunning. The room was the color of honey, and bees were the theme, from the canisters by the sink to the curtain tiebacks. Haven put out her hand. “You must be Nadia. I am—”

“Quinn’s lifebond!” the other woman said in a gush as she took Haven’s hand and pumped it up and down. “Thank Avalon! Maybe you can talk some sense into him.” She pulled her farther into the kitchen. “I have a room set up for Bastian to stay for a while, and I’ve already talked with Ean Maverick. He’ll come and stay with us, too, if that makes you feel better. I am sure there is an extra cell phone around here somewhere so you can call him any time you want, and our door is open any time you want to just peek in to see how he’s doing.” Nadia tugged Haven toward the delicately decorated living room. “I was going to talk to you about getting Bastian back into school, but he’s better off if we don’t put pressure on him until after your done bonding. He’ll catch up easily enough. Until then, there are plenty of us to keep him entertained and out of trouble.”

Haven’s mouth dropped open. No one had talked to her about taking Bastian away from her this soon.

Nadia took one look at her face and said something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a fairy curse. She shot her mate a scathing look before she led her over to the kitchen table. “Sit. I should have realized none of them would have thought to put Bastian some place safer than with a bonding couple. The offer stands whenever you’re ready, dear. You and your family are always welcome in my house.”

Once the shock wore off, she began to feel at ease in the other woman’s presence. The tiny woman was a bundle of pure energy. Nadia moved around the kitchen preparing a kettle to put on the stove and opening a cabinet full of different types of cups. “So what will it be? Tea? Coffee?” She glanced at Quinn grumbling by the doorway. “A shot of vodka? I might even be able to find a big game tranquilizer to slip into his drink.” She gave him the sweetest and most plastic smile.

Quinn grumbled louder.

Nadia laughed. Then she was talking to Haven again. “Anything you need, just say the word, and I’ll make it happen.”

Haven shook her head a few times. “Wow, I…” She laughed nervously. “I have no idea what I am supposed to do.” Though, she did feel better when Bastian plopped down next to her with a giant plate of steak.

“How about say thank you and when can the boy move in?”

“Bastian!” she snapped at him. “You are not staying with anyone I don’t know.”

“Right, like you need an audience while you two, um, bond,” Bastian said in only the way a fourteen-year old could.

“Exactly,” Quinn said. “You will have complete access to him, and I will show you how to operate the portal room without the aid of Memphis, so you can see Bastian anytime you wish.”

Haven needed to deal with one issue at a time. She’d figure out later if sending Bastian to live with someone else for a few days was the right thing to do, when she wasn’t so overwhelmed
. She
made an appeal to Nadia. “What am I supposed to do with him?” She tilted her head toward Quinn. “I have no idea what exactly a bonding couple is supposed to be doing.”

Nadia pointed a finger at Quinn. “Say it and I swear I’ll zap you. Go take Bastian into the other room and make sure he eats everything before you introduce him to the video game system. I am going to have a heart to heart with my new sister.”

“Nadia—” Quinn started.

The air in the kitchen ionized with an electrical charge. “I mean it!” Nadia said. “Shoo. Don’t make me do something I’ll have to explain to my lifebond.”

Haven was up and out of her chair. She was standing in front of Quinn before she knew what she was doing. She liked Nadia already, and she didn’t want to have to slap the woman for zapping Quinn.

“Please,” she said softly. She reached up and patted Quinn’s chest. Her body did an involuntary shudder of pleasure at the feel of his muscles under her hands. She cleared her throat and stepped back. “I need a little bit of sanity in this insane day. Just go with Bastian. It would make me feel better.”

He shot Nadia an annoyed glare, and then he let out a dramatic huff of air. “We need to be alone if we are going to bond properly.”

“I know, but just think how much easier you’ll have it when we are completely alone if I’ve had a nice chat with
your
sister-in-law.” He was a guy. No matter what else he was in the world, she was sure if his male parts thought his chances of getting into her female parts would be made easier in some way, he’d comply.

It worked. He bent down and lightly brushed his mouth along her jaw line. “Don’t be too long.” He still didn’t look happy as he moved toward the door, but then grudgingly jerked his head for Bastian to follow before he left her alone with Nadia.

The tiny woman’s eyes went perfectly huge as she stared after Quinn. “Sweet Flora, it is true. You are his lifebond.” Then she was at the stove again retrieving the pot of water just as steam puffed from the spout. “I do believe you are the first person in two thousand years who convinced him to do something he didn’t want to do.”

Haven moved over to the counter next to Nadia. She needed a good relationship with this woman. The feeling ran as bone deep as the need to be connected to Quinn. She and this woman were going to need each other a lot over the course of her lifetime. “You make him sound like an overbearing jackass. Is there anything I can help you with?”