Kain cleared his throat. “Mallorn’s report last night was… worrying.”

In a flash, irritation was replaced with a hot spike of anger. “Worrying? Don’t fucking tell me he was whining to you about how I’m handling Georgia.”

“He wasn’t whining, Kesh. He was agitated. I understand your inclination to keep the presence of an unmated Breeder in your territory quiet, considering the clusterfuck of a war we’re in, but I’m telling you, you’re gonna lose control of your men if you don’t allow them to start the courting process soon. We can’t afford to lose any of them, let alone a warrior as loyal as Mallorn.”

Anger faded to dread. He remembered the seething resentment in his old friend’s eyes when Kesh had commanded him to release his hold on Georgia. He’d been too preoccupied with his own roiling aggression, thanks to her presence, to worry about his Second’s. Could he truly lose his most trusted warrior over her? His friend?

Kesh looked up at the screen. At his brother. The man who’d slaughtered the old crown prince and split the continents with war, all to keep his mate.

Kain was right.

If anything would break his men’s loyalty, it would be this.

He pushed away the hollow feeling in his chest, forcing his focus to the priority: the war. His men. His duty as their prince. “I understand. I will send out the official invitation to her courting tomorrow. She should be mated within the week.”

28

Kirigan

A beep from his phone alerted him to movement from the west wing of his estate, where his son and daughter-in-law had gone to have their video call with Kesh. When he glanced at the screen, he saw Selma walking down the corridor with Kamaran in her arms. Unescorted.

The darkness in his gut tightened. He was moving before he’d decided to, crystal glass clanking as he roughly placed his bourbon on the table and headed out the library door.

He intercepted her before she reached the cozy lounge she favored. Her eyes widened slightly at his sudden appearance, her grip on the baby tightening a little, but her scent no longer soured with fear at the sight of him, like it had in the beginning. “Kirigan…”

“Kain let you leave his side? Without a guard?” he interrupted.

The Breeder sighed, rolling her eyes. “Yes. Seeing as I’m his queen, not his prisoner.” She stepped to the side to get around him and continued to the lounge she’d claimed after she and Kain moved in.

Kirigan followed her, taking a seat on the window ledge as she got comfortable on the sofa and began nursing her baby. Despite the lack of fear in her scent these days, he knew she found his companionship… unpleasant. He didn’t have the capacity or the inclination to care.

They settled into tense silence, broken only by the small suckling sounds from his grandson.

Kirigan stared out the window, trying to ignore the sound. It cut like tiny shards of glass through his nervous system, and the darkness in him snarled to wring the little creature’s neck. End the sounds, and the agony of the memories they brought from when his own sons were young. He exhaled slowly, deeply, letting the madness wash through him. There was no point fighting it; he’d given up on that folly decades ago.

A small hiss from the Breeder brought him back with a sharp twinge. He snapped his head around just in time to see her yanking Kamaran from her breast to rub at her nipple, eyebrows locked in a displeased frown as she glared at her baby.

“He bit you?” He only noticed his clenched fists, his furious voice, and the dark well of magic pouring out of him when he saw Selma’s eyes widen in shock, followed by a protective bubble of light erupting around her. With a force of will, he tempered the madness down. Only when he was sure it was back under control did he say, “My apologies. You and your child are safe. I promise."

His daughter-in-law took a long, hard look at him before she lowered her magic barrier. “What the hell was that?”

“Nothing. It was nothing.” He turned back to the window, staring blindly out at the tapestry of autumnal foliage lighting up the grounds. It wasn’t ‘nothing’. But if he confessed to her, or to Kain, exactly what it was, they would leave. Which would make them more vulnerable to the Europeans. His estate was the safest place for them, and so they would stay. He’d control the madness, even if it broke him to pieces. He had to.

“He shouldn’t hurt you. You’re his mother. He owes you everything. More than everything.”

“He’s a baby. And I think he’s teething. It’s normal.” With another cautious look his way, Selma placed his grandson at her other breast. He heard her mutter, “But if you bite me again, you little asshole, I’m gonna start bottle feeding you,” under her breath.

She was nothing like his mate had been.

It should fill him with relief, should allow the belief that she would never be driven to take her life in order to escape to settle into his broken mind. Diligently, he’d watched her on the cameras he’d installed since she and Kain moved into his home, looking for any sign that she was fading like his Janette had, and he’d found none. By all accounts, she was a doting mother, fulfilled by her life by his son’s side. She even took him eagerly when they coupled, sometimes initiating the intimacy, without activation of her clitoral ring.

Yet still… the idea that one day she might realize the horror of her situation, and then his firstborn would experience what it was like to lose his mate? It kept him on edge, alert to her every movement. In some ways it was a relief—to feel a brush of fear again, instead of the decades of nothing but dark, maddening despair.

Kain joined them shortly after. He went to his Breeder immediately, ensuring she was well, as instinct dictated he do.

“Did Kesh say anything else about the Seer?” Selma asked her mate while he fussed around with the pillows behind her.

“Only to confirm that he would invite her suitors and begin the official courting process.” The hesitancy in Kain’s voice pulled Kirigan’s attention from the window.

“What aren’t you saying?” Selma asked, eyes narrowed. She’d heard it, too.

Kain sighed. “Nothing. Just… I don’t know. Kesh seemed…”

“Kesh seemed what?” Kirigan snapped. Something clawed from the darkness—icy foreboding.

“He seemed… somewhat reluctant to call for her courting. I spoke with his Second last night—Mallorn was agitated at the territorial behavior he claims Kesh is exhibiting over the girl. The last thing we need right now is for Kesh to lose control of his closest allies due to this woman. I’m sure it’s nothing, though. Just testosterone and instincts running high in the presence of an unmated Breeder. Things will settle once she has selected a mate.”

“And what if it’s not nothing?” Selma said softly. “You know how he is—pretends he has no interest in women, but deep down…”

“Even if that were the case, this girl’s not a Pure-Breeder. He can’t lay claim to her.” Kain’s brow creased in a frown. “Not that it would necessarily stop him from wanting to, but he is too honorable to risk everything for a woman he can’t have. No matter what his instincts may or may not want.”

Selma only looked at him. Nothing was said, but Kain’s face still crumbled with frustration. “Fuck! This is the worst fucking timing!”

“I’ll go see him,” Selma said. “I know you don’t want me and Kam traveling unless we need to right now, but if you’ve got even the slightest hunch that something’s amiss with Kesh and this woman, I need to make sure she’s going to be okay.”

Kain opened his mouth to protest, but he didn’t get the chance.

“No. I’ll go.” Kirigan pushed off the window ledge, already headed for the door.

“Kirigan, it’s my responsibil⁠—”