Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) (32 page)

“What in the world happened to you after she
kissed you?”

Ternach frowned. “Could we discuss my big
change after we’ve taken care of this? I’m going to lose the little
bit of control I have right away. Take her, or I will.”

The thought of Ternach simply getting up and
taking me made my stomach clench and the heat rose. Both of them
groaned.

“That was you she was thinking about, not
me.”

“Are you giving me permission?”

Jasper growled then stopped. “I… I’m not
sure.”

“By the moons, Jasper, I don’t feel like
being hunted down after this. She’s not the one thinking of
anything, it’s her body. She’s reacting to all of the emotions
we’re all feeling. She’ll take whichever one of us breaks first.
You’re not even really thinking like yourself. Her emotions are
overpowering yours. On any other day, would you even consider
sharing her with someone else?”

“This isn’t one of your tricks? You honestly
can’t control this?”

“Damn it! Do I look like I’m in control?”

“Hello! Can I have a say in this?”

That seemed to snap Jasper out of whatever
frozen state he was in. His eyes met mine and I sucked in a breath.
The blue in them was dark with the wanting I was projecting on[
him. He stood so smoothly that I wasn’t entirely sure he’d been
sitting in the first place. I gasped as he flung me over his
shoulder and stalked toward the woods.

“No, you do not get a say in this.” He set me
down and had my pants down before I could even think of saying
anything else. His arm brushed against my breast as he stood back
up. My nipples were so hard that the fabric of my shirt rubbing
against them was almost painful. Jasper ran a thumb over them and I
groaned. A shiver ran through him.

“Jasper, please.” It was almost a sob. I
pressed myself against him. He growled low in his throat before
reaching between us to untie the laces of his pants. He only
bothered to free himself before turning me around, and bending me
over. I reached forward and placed my hands on a fallen tree.
Jasper thrust into me with no warning and I wanted to cry it felt
so good. He pulled out and pushed back in again. I pushed back
against him, begging him to fill me again. He reached forward and
found my breast under my shirt. His fingers pinched my nipple which
caused me to shiver. I tightened around him and he caught his
breath. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard another
groan.

Jasper straightened and grabbed my hips in
his hands. He pushed into me and pulled me against him in long,
firm strokes. My legs spread in answer and he managed to plunge
deeper into me still. I felt the pressure start to build as he
pushed into parts of me I was sure he’d never reached before. The
release started deep inside of me and made its way slowly through
every nerve in my body until I was blind with the pleasure of it.
Each thrust sent a new wave of heat washing over me. I cried out
his name and collapsed back against him. He let out a cross between
a groan and a growl as he spilled himself inside of me.

He pulled out slowly, did his pants up then
helped me back into mine. He pulled me to his chest.

“Are you alright?” His voice was just a
whisper. I nodded, still too out of breath to speak.

You can come back. I think I’ve got this
under control now.

Jasper took a deep breath. “Out of everybody
you could have bonded with, Shlova…”

“Well, it’s not like I tried to. If you’ll
remember correctly I wanted to kill him, not bond to him.”

I can still hear you.

Jasper ran a hand over his face. “Alright.
Let’s go see what the hell is going on.” He cupped my face in his
hands and kissed me softly. “I’m sorry, you know… about this.” He
motioned to our immediate area.

I tried to keep my laughter down but
couldn’t. “Oh my god, Jasper, did it look like I was
complaining?”

He grinned and shrugged. I took his hand and
we made our way back into the clearing. I got ready to feel the
tingle of Ternach’s feelings along my skin. I found him lying on
his back where we had left him, his one arm over his face. He was
still trying to catch his breath.

“Why can’t I feel you anymore?”

He removed his arm so he could look at me.
His pale green eyes met mine and held my gaze. He smiled. “Thank
the moons, this is going to be much easier now that I can shield
again.” He sat up. “I was able to pull enough energy from the two
of you while you were… well, to bring my levels up. I’m not
anywhere near as strong as I used to be, but at least I can
shield.”

Now that I wasn’t feeling what he was
feeling, it was much easier to put things in perspective. I
realized that it hadn’t really been me that had wanted him so
badly, it had just been a mix of everyone’s emotions thrown
together and amplified.

Jasper let out a sigh of relief as everything
clicked into place. Ternach’s eyes saddened for an instant.

“Don’t worry, my love. I was fairly sure it
wasn’t me you wanted like that.” He grinned and the look vanished.
“Though I probably would have been able to absorb more energy had I
done the deed myself, I’m afraid that until we can figure out how
to break this bond, the three of us are stuck together for a while
and I must say, it would have been a rather uneasy relationship to
deal with.”

“So what’s going on? Are you still immortal?”
I tried to ignore the fact that if Jasper hadn’t been around,
Ternach would have stepped up to the plate.

“I am, though I’ll have to admit that I’m not
entirely the man I used to be. You nearly did me in with that kiss
of yours. Fortunately for me, I managed to pull away before you did
any permanent damage, though I do believe it was a close call.
Somehow, the kiss opened a bond between the two of us, and because
you are bonded to Jasper, he got sucked into the mix as well.”

“So explain to me why you don’t even sound
like yourself anymore.”

He shrugged. “This is just how I talk. The
other voice worked better for what I needed it for. Since I’m not
really the Evertimeless anymore, well…”

“Which part of you was affected?”

I wondered if Jasper was just curious or was
going to use this information to his advantage.

“My magic. I can still shift at will, and now
I’m able to shield again, thank the moons. I was able to displace
Hayden, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I was only able to do
so because of our bond. I tried displacing one of the shifters that
came by here earlier in the day and I had absolutely no effect on
her.”

Ternach’s gaze held mine for a moment. He
glanced to where Jasper’s hand laced with mine. Jasper’s hand
tightened around mine and Ternach’s eyes met his. Ternach looked
away first.

“Since you’ll probably feel it eventually,
Jasper, I’ll tell you right now, I’m in love with your mate.”

Jasper growled. “You have a funny way of
showing it.”

Ternach shrugged. “I’m afraid that after
endless years alone, my sense of humor may be lacking. I never did
intend to kill her. It was just a bit of a shock to find someone
with as much power as her. It was fun.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Jasper
frowned.

“Like I said. I can’t seem to keep my
feelings neutral all the time and I imagine you’ll see it when I
look at her. I’ve noticed you both reacting to things you’re seeing
in my eyes. It seems I can’t pull off the dead look anymore.”

Jasper looked completely baffled. He ran his
free hand through his hair. Ternach and I both watched him, waiting
to see where his train of thought would end up. Jasper closed his
eyes and Ternach looked at me, frowning. I shrugged. I wasn’t
entirely sure how I felt about this new Ternach, but I had to admit
that I liked him a hell of a lot more than the one who was always
trying to kill me. Jasper frowned then nodded.

“How do we break the bond?”

Ternach shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Blue eyes met green again. Jasper growled. “I
don’t like this.”

I squeezed his hand. “Me neither.”

Ternach grinned. “I’m not going to lie. I
find this amusing.”

“Of course you do,” I mumbled, more to myself
than to him. I stood and pulled Jasper up with me. “Let’s go. I’m
hungry and tired and I want to talk to Damian and Rainen. They
might have an idea about how we can break this bond.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to hear your
conversations since we can shield now. If you learn of anything
that may be of importance, just, oh, I don’t know…send me a
feeling.”

I frowned. “You’re not coming with us?”

Ternach cocked an eyebrow. “Not everyone is
as forgiving as you, my love. I have a hunch that Rainen would love
to take me on in my present state and I’m fairly sure she would be
victorious.”

“Are you sure you should be out here all by
yourself when the only thing you can do is shield?”

He grinned. “So concerned for my welfare is
my love. I’ll be fine.”

Jasper nodded. “We’ll let you know what we
find out.” He started to walk away and I followed.

Everyone looked up as we entered our camp.
Rainen was the first to speak, her midnight blue eyes wide with
shock.

“Please tell me this isn’t what it looks
like. You’re bonded to Ternach?”

I nodded. “Any ideas on how we can fix
that?”

“We could kill him.” She didn’t sound very
hopeful as she made the suggestion.

I shook my head. She turned to my mate.

“Jasper?”

He shrugged. “Hayden doesn’t want to kill
him.”

I frowned. “Do you want to?”

He shrugged again. “After feeling what he’s
feeling as a result of losing most of his magic, I admit I
sympathize with the man. On the other hand, after everything he’s
put you through, I’m finding it hard to convince myself that
getting rid of him while he’s weak isn’t the best option we
have.”

“I just… I feel like we should help him.”

His jaw clenched. “Help him do what, Shlova?
Kill you? He’s already promised you that the instant you go after
Braw he won’t hesitate to do so.”

I felt my own temper rise. “The only reason
he’s bound to protect Braw and the staff is because I cursed him
with that energy! If it weren’t for me and that kiss he’d just be a
regular pain in our ass and not on anybody’s side. I’m not going to
kill him because of something I caused.”

“By the moons, Hayden, you can’t protect
everybody and everything. We are about to declare war! Beings are
going to die! A lot of them are going to die and he’ll be a big
factor as to how many of them are from our side!”

Everyone sat and stared, none of them willing
to get involved. I honestly couldn’t remember ever having a full
out screaming match with Jasper, but I supposed there was a first
time for everything. The instant that thought went through my head
my train of thought evaporated. All I knew was I didn’t want to
fight with him and that our packs didn’t need to see us falling
apart because of the stress of our situation. I could see the
conflict in Jasper’s eyes; his need to keep me happy and safe was
battling with his need to keep his packs safe. He’d spent his
entire life trying to make sure his men made it back home to their
families and now I was telling him he couldn’t get rid of a problem
which might cause a large number of them to die. These men and
women were volunteering their lives because we had asked them to.
Was I willing to sacrifice them for the life of one immortal who
was constantly trying to kill and abduct me?

“I’m sorry.”

Jasper had been about to yell something else.
He stopped short, his mouth still open. He looked at me for a
second then closed it. “What?”

“I’m sorry. You’re right.”

He frowned.

“What do you think the best way to do this
would be?”

He simply stared at me. I took a step toward
him and he blinked. His eyes softened.

“Not you, Shlova. I know what you feel like
when you kill a being in self-defense. I’m not going to let you
hunt down somebody you don’t actually want to kill. I’ll take
Rainen.”

“But…”

“No buts. Do you really want to kill
him?”

I shook my head. It was no use lying to the
man when he could read how I was feeling. Even with my shields up
Jasper was starting to get good at pushing through my defenses. “I
feel bad for what I did to him and would like to help him, but
you’re right; I’m not going to ask these men and women to fight for
us then not do everything in my power to keep them safe.”

He nodded and Rainen stood.

Tell them not to bother, my love. They won’t
find me.

“I thought you couldn’t hear our
conversations if we were shielding.”

I may have lied. Now, don’t feel bad, I won’t
hold it against you that you wish me dead. Were I in your place, I
would probably do the same thing. I’ll meet you in Paradin, my
love. I’m still hoping you’ll change your mind and turn around, but
I don’t think that will happen. It seems we’ll get a rematch after
all.

“He’s gone.”

Jasper growled. “What happened to not being
able to hear us?”

“He lied. You didn’t hear him?”

Jasper shook his head.

“The shields must be strong enough to block
Jasper because of his lack of magic, but you and Ternach are more
closely connected due to the original bond and your energies.”
Rainen frowned. “I don’t like this.”

“That makes all of us,” I mumbled.

“Come have something to eat, Shlova. We can
figure out what to do with him later.”

I took a deep breath. Things just kept
getting more and more complicated. Then again, had I really
expected things to go smoothly? This was war after all.

*****

Jasper was stuck in place. He willed his legs
to move and growled in frustration. Ternach’s eyes met his. The
dream flashed and he saw the immortal launch himself at Hayden,
felt his own heart split in two; he felt that dead feeling he’d
only felt the day his mate had died.