Zed's Dishonest Mate (16 page)

“I hoped that you’d say that.”

Then the screams started. He rocked back and forth as his tiny fists pushed into his ears to keep the sounds from reaching him. Then the visions came. He was older and just as scared. A man twice as big as his dad held his hand.

“Don’t listen.”

“What’s going to happen?”

That was the first time he saw his mate in a vision. The screaming played in the background, but he was safe.

“Someday, I’ll find you. Be strong until then.”

The memories faded. He was back in the present, far away from his dead father’s body, but locked away in a dark room. He shook his head. Hiding in the dark closet was the past. The child that couldn’t fight back and hid in the darkness no longer existed.

Luka stood up. He closed his eyes, this time not looking to the past or future, but staying in the present. His mind moved from person to person. He was seeing out of their eyes, focusing on his location. He found the guard outside a large wooden door.

He changed the guard’s vision. Using shadows, he arranged for the elf to turn around. He could make this man see anything, but he needed to be subtle. He pictured a rat, trying to gauge his ability. The guard jumped back at the fake rat. Luka smiled. He found a way out.

Luka focused on the door. He created more shadows to force the guard’s focus to the door. While he could change what the guard saw, he couldn’t control him. He changed the position of the door from locked to unlocked. The guard noticed it right away. He walked over to the door and switched the lock position. Luka smiled as the door was unlocked.

He moved over to the door. He closed his eyes and focused on the guard. He saw the door and captured an image in his mind. Luka opened the door and closed it as quietly as possible. The man turned but saw nothing and turned his head back around. Luka used the guard’s eyes to guide him down the hall. Sounds he couldn’t hide, but to everyone around him, he was invisible.

When he reached the hall, he used the other guards to locate every elf around. He made a mental map of their positions. He focused on being invisible and the people around him no longer saw him.

This was the second time he used this ability. The first was after a beating. Afraid that they would come back, he curled up and pretended he wasn’t there. They never saw him. Of course later, he suffered a stiff punishment, but this time he wouldn’t just hide. No, he planned to leave.

With absolute focus, he had everyone’s position. He made it up two floors, maneuvering around all the guards. No one would know he was gone. If they looked in the cell, they’d see him curled in the corner. He traveled from mind to mind of all the guards on the floor. Sometimes, he was seeing out of two guards at the same time and then he could see out of three guards.

He spotted the next flight of stairs. Quickly, he moved toward them. He needed to go up. Anything that went up led him closer to the outside world.

A large arm wrapped around his body as a hand covered his mouth. Something was wrong. He couldn’t see out of this man’s eyes. He kicked and pushed, but his captor was too strong. After all that, he wasn’t going to escape.

“Shh, it’s me.” Zed placed a kiss on his neck.

Luka whimpered as he leaned into Zed’s arms. He tried to talk, but it came out all mumbled.

Zed removed his hand.

“You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here. We need to get you out of here.”

Luka nodded.

Zed turned him around and examined his mate’s body. He touched the bruise forming on his cheek. “Someone hit you.”

He nodded. “Kane.” The murderous rage from Zed left Luka rushing to reassure his mate. “He only hit me once. Then they locked me in a room.” He left out the part where Kane planned to give him to man that would repeatedly rape him until he gave birth to a child. No, now wasn’t the time. Even he couldn’t deal with that now. “Please, take me away. I want to leave.”

Zed pulled Luka close. “You’re safe now.” He turned away. “Roman, let’s go.”

A large man with short, dark hair walked up behind Zed.

He recognized Roman Walker, but the demon was another person he couldn’t see out of.

“We have five floors to go,” Roman said as he moved past them up the stairs.

Zed pushed Luka forward. He was sandwiched between the two as one protected him from the front and one watched his back.

“Can’t we just leave?” He reached for Zed’s hand.

“Sorry, mate. The wards mess with time and space. We have to leave the old-fashioned way. Walking.”

Luka closed his eyes.

“Luka, it’s dangerous to walk with your eyes closed,” Zed warned.

Luka shook his head. He saw out of everyone in the building at the same time. “Keep going. No one is around the next two flights. The one after that is guarded by three elves.”

“You can see them?” Roman asked.

“Not just see them. I can make them see different things. I’ll block us from their vision, but I can’t hide sounds.”

“So we need to be really quiet,” Zed said.

The three of them walked quietly up the stairs as Luka changed the images each person saw. When they arrived on the ground level, he saw out of Kane’s eyes. He was fighting with the arbitrator. King Kane pushed the arbitrator against the wall. The other man sneered and threw magic at the king. The magic was different than the life energy that an elf controlled. It was black and evil.

Kane laughed. He grabbed a knife from the drawer and walked closer to the arbitrator. Three guards ran into the room. The arbitrator looked for a way out, but there wasn’t any. Before the blood started to spill, Luka closed his mind to them.

They reached the top level and walked out the front door. As soon as the fresh night air hit their skins, Zed’s arms were wrapped firmly around him.

“Close your eyes,” Zed ordered.

He closed his eyes. He felt the pull, but not seeing it helped with the nausea. The feeling was different from the first time Zed transported them across territories. He reached down and touched his stomach. He felt weak and tired. His legs gave out just as Zed picked him up.

“I’m fine,” he said before the question could be asked. He opened his eyes just in time to see Zed roll his eyes.

“Of course you are. That’s why you can’t keep your eyes open and almost fainted.”

Luka shook his head. “I’m fine because you’re with me.”

Luka curled up on the couch, dozing off and on. Avery had already examined him, giving him two thumbs up. He didn’t need the doctor to tell him he was fine, but apparently Zed needed to hear it. He yawned.

His eyes closed. It was like they had a mind of their own. He couldn’t keep them open. Sleep sounded so good. He could curl into a small ball and pretend the last few hours had never happened. He took a deep breath. He couldn’t get enough of it. The room that he was locked in was musty and damp. Here smelled like home.

Everything was as it should be. Well, almost. He touched his belly. The life sparked stronger than before.

Roman and Zed continued to discuss the threat. His eyes felt heavier. They drifted shut. Then the door closed. He shot up and looked around.

“Awake?” Zed asked. He walked closer. “Sorry, we woke you.”

“I wasn’t sleeping.” His voice sounded groggy. He rubbed his cheek. It stung. Avery had reassured him that healing it would be okay, but he wanted all his energy to focus on the life growing inside.

“Really.” Zed pulled him closer. “You were snoring. Stop lying.”

Luka looked into Zed’s dark brown eyes. The disappointment shook him to the core. “I wasn’t lying. I just don’t remember sleeping.” He pulled Zed into a kiss. “I swear. That’s not something I would lie about.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to trust you.” Zed pulled Luka up. He stumbled into Zed’s strong, supportive arms. His mate walked him down the hall to the bedroom.

He held onto Zed’s hand, squeezing his mate’s palm. The skin-to-skin contact was a comfort that left him feeling safe. He relished the strength. The worry reentered. What if this was temporary? He tried to ignore it, but it was impossible to ignore. Tonight, he had to tell Zed everything. If his mate didn’t trust him now, there was no telling if he’d trust him afterwards.

The door closed. Zed tore at Luka’s shirt, buttons popped off. So far he’d lost many new shirts to Zed’s urgent need to touch him, but he wasn’t complaining. The desperation in Zed’s eyes to reconnect their bodies reflected his own need. The shirt slid from his shoulders and fell to the floor. Zed’s cool hands grazed his bare skin. Luka reached out, wrapping his fingers around Zed’s wrists. His mate stopped moving and looked directly at him. The stare bored into him, demanding answers.

“Wait,” Luka said breathlessly.

“Why?” Zed questioned. He leaned down and placed small kisses on Luka’s neck. “I need to hold you.”

Luka desperately wanted to let it go and wait until later, but he needed to be honest. It couldn’t wait any longer. There was one secret left to tell. “No,” Luka pulled back. “Before that. I need to tell you something. You’re not going to like it.”

Zed looked directly at him. The lust, easily read, started to dull. His lips turned downward into a frown. “Another secret.”

Luka wanted to cry. “I didn’t trust you.” He paused, trying to think of the right words, but there weren’t any. “I didn’t trust you not to hurt me. I saw you over and over again. In all the years since living with King Kane, my dreams of you helped me to survive. When we first met, you weren’t the same person. I was scared.”

“Scared? Did you think I would hurt you?” Zed interrupted. His hands fell off Luka’s body like he was a repulsive creature too disgusting to touch.

“Yes and no.” Luka scratched his head. “I couldn’t imagine a world where no one hurts me. When I dreamed of you, your eyes only showed love, but when we met you were so angry. It was different. I didn’t trust you, but I didn’t know you.”

“Is that why you lied? Even now you still can’t be honest.” Zed turned from him. Luka grabbed his arm.

“No, I just couldn’t share the truth. I never really lied.” Zed cocked his head in disbelief. “About this secret,” he clarified.

Luka almost regretted his statement when Zed focused on him. The fury burned through his mates glowing red eyes.

“You lied every time you pretended everything was okay. When you looked at the menu and tried to get me to believe you could read it. When you walked to my home with a bruised and broken body. When you kept your visions and abilities a secret. Those were all lies. Even now you’re keeping something.”

Luka nodded. He wouldn’t argue about the past. “I trust you with everything. You saved me from Kane and from myself. Zed, you’re everything, and I want to give you everything, starting with the truth.”

“Why now?” Zed’s anger slowly started to fade. It was still there but didn’t burn as hot.

“Because I love you and I trust you. You won’t hurt me. We are going to be together forever.” Luka smiled. A tear fell from his eye, but he ignored it. “That’s if you can forgive me.” The only thing that mattered was Zed, and Zed needed to believe him.

Zed turned back around. His hands touched Luka’s cheek. His fingers moved up, wiping the tears away. “I love you. That’s why it hurts when you continue to keep things from me. Tell me. What is this last secret?”

Luka closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. “There’s a secret that elves don’t share with outsiders. It’s a secret I’ve been keeping from you.”

“Continue,” Zed encouraged.

“Some elves are good at healing. The elf has to be good at healing himself for this to work. Some male elves can give birth.”

“Give birth?” Zed’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?”

“It means some male elves can get pregnant and carry a child.” Luka paused. “It’s rare. Only about ten percent of male elves have this ability. They are always healers. My father was human, but my other parent was also a man. He was an elf healer.”

“So your secret is that you can get pregnant.”

“Kind of. My final secret is that I’m already carrying a child. Your child.” Luka looked down. He didn’t want to see disgust or anger on his mate’s face. He hands moved protectively to his stomach as he rested his palm on the flat surface.

Zed’s large hand rested on top of his hand. “So we have a lot to do in the next few months to prepare for the child.”

Luka broke down into sobs. “You’re fine with this. We never talked about having children.”

“That’s because I didn’t know it was possible. You kept it from me.”

Luka felt the words slap him. He almost fell back but Zed pulled him into his arms.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that we would have planned for this if I had known. This child is ours. I will do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe.”

“King Kane wanted me to mate with someone else to give birth to a stronger weapon.”

Zed growled. He pulled Luka close. “No one touches you but me.” The words were full of anger and said with a fierce determination.

“Can you forgive me for all the secrets?”

Zed sighed. “I understand. It’s hard for you to trust, but I don’t like the lies.”

“I swear there’s nothing else.”

Zed placed a tender kiss on his forehead. “Today, we start fresh. With complete honesty. Do you agree?”

Luka nodded. “That’s all I want. A second chance to show that I trust you.” He leaned into Zed. “This child will be part human, elf and vampire. Are you sure that’s ok? The world might curse the baby’s existence.”

Zed kissed Luka’s forehead. “This child will be welcomed. The world is changing. The races are starting to get along. This child is a symbol of that.”

“A symbol of love and tolerance.” Luka’s voice was soft as the words slipped out.

“Yes.” Zed leaned in and captured Luka’s lips. The kiss started soft but quickly turned into more. Luka grabbed behind Zed’s neck, pulling him closer.

Zed backed his mate up until his legs touched the edge of the bed. He gently helped Luka onto his back. He kissed up and down Luka’s bare chest. Long fingers played with the button of his pants. One hard yank and the pants moved past his knee. One more pull and his legs were free.