Flawless by Evans, Gabrielle (icecream ebook reader TXT) 📗

so queasy any longer. Lynk wiggled his toes and fingers experimentally and rocked his head from side to side on his neck. Nothing felt broken. “I’m okay. I’ll probably be a little sore tomorrow, but everything is where it should be.”

“C’mon, Lynk.” Kieran helped him up and lifted him into his arms. “A nice, hot bath should help, and we’ll see if Elder Jackass can rustle up some pain meds.”

“Maybe you could release said elder from the wall first,” Torren snapped, still struggling against the fastening spell Lynk had placed on him.

Aslan looked like he was going to rupture something from laughing so hard. “Will he eventually get free without you?”

“He could get free now if he was really concentrating on it.” Lynk had no illusions about being more powerful than his brother.

Snuggled in Kieran’s arms, he wasn’t too fussed about it, either.

“In that case, go on and have that bath.” Aslan stopped laughing and gave Torren a seductive smirk. “I’ll take good care of him.” Torren stopped struggling, and he stared his mate up and down, practically undressing him with his eyes. “Get out,” he ordered, without even looking in Lynk’s direction.

The look of lust in his eyes was enough to make Lynk shudder.

“Let’s go. This is definitely not something that I want to see.”

“Not to worry.” Kieran dropped a kiss on the top of his head as he carried him out of the room. “We’ll find a little privacy and make our own magic.”

* * * *

He’d only wanted to prevent Lynk from getting hurt. Instead, just the opposite had happened. While it had been nothing more than sibling bickering, it could have been so much worse.

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Placing his lover gently on the bed, Kieran brushed his lips against Lynk’s and smiled. “I’ll start the bath.” Lynk didn’t return his smile, though. “What happened? Are you ever going to tell me?”

Sighing in resignation, Kieran stretched out on the mattress beside his mate, realizing that a soak in the tub would have to be postponed for less enjoyable pursuits. “Zasha has requested a formal hearing with The Council. He’s protesting our mating, and requesting the right to challenge me.”

“Challenge you for the right to claim me as a mate?” Lynk shot up so quickly that their foreheads smacked together. Heedless of the injury, Lynk just shook his head as though flinging off water and gaped at Kieran. “You can’t be serious! He can’t do that. Can he do that? You’ve already claimed me. Zasha is not my mate!”

“Hush now.” Kieran stroked the side of Lynk’s face, tucking his hair back behind his ear. “I know, sugar. I know. Torren doesn’t have a choice but to grant him the hearing, though. Plus, Zasha has Leader Tuesday backing him.”

“What’s going to happen at this meeting?”

“I don’t know. If Zasha argues his case convincingly, I assume that The Council will be forced to grant him the right to challenge me.” Kieran wished he had better answers, but in truth, he didn’t know what to expect in the days to come.

“When is the hearing?”

Kieran flinched. “Uh, tomorrow evening.”

“Crackerjacks!” Lynk grumbled a few more pseudo-curses under his breath before regaining control. “So, we only get one shot at this dream thing. If we don’t learn anything useful, we’re screwed at the hearing.”

“There’s also the chance that we can find out about Thane, but nothing that will help us with Zasha.” 106 Gabrielle

Evans

Kieran chuckled when his mate growled at him. “Thank you so much for the optimistic spin on our predicament. It’s very helpful. Is there anything we can do to circumvent this challenge?”

“If Bannon can’t help us find out anything useful, then we can try to prove our case.” Kieran was the one to growl this time. He didn’t like the idea at all. It left Lynk too exposed, too vulnerable, and he wouldn’t be close enough to protect him if something happened.

On the other hand, in his shifted form on the full moon, there was absolutely nothing that would prevent him from getting to his mate.

No matter where Lynk was, no matter how far away or what obstacles presented themselves in his path, Kieran would find him.

“Won’t that mean that Zasha will also be able to provide evidence to prove that I’m his mate? How does that work? How do you know for sure with vampires? And why doesn’t anyone care what I want?” They were all good questions, but unfortunately, Kieran didn’t have a response. “I care what you want, Lynk, but I don’t know all the rules. I don’t understand anything about politics, especially vampire politics.” He pushed his lover back to the mattress and pinned him there by his shoulders while he loomed over him. “I promise you this, though. No matter what happens or what those idiots on The Council say, I won’t let anyone take you away from me. You got that?”

“Same goes for you,” Lynk answered firmly. “I don’t care what they say. You are my mate, and I’ve waited a long time to get you back. I’m not about to let you go now.” To know Lynk would fight so vehemently for him—for them—

sent a wave of warmth flowing from Kieran’s chest and out to his extremities. He really should have known better than to doubt Lynk’s feelings for him, though. The man had faced down a group of angry vampires for him. If that wasn’t proof enough that Lynk wanted him, he didn’t know what was.

“We’ll figure this out. No one is going anywhere. Though, it might be a hell of a lot easier if we can find Thane. If Torren’s theory Flawless 107

about him being Zasha’s mate is right, it could save a lot of trouble and stress.”

“I would like nothing better, but how do you propose that we find my wayward brother?”

Kieran couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Gods, he loved the way Lynk talked sometimes, like hints of his old lives were sneaking into his