Free Undying Hope by Emma Weylin

switch Bastian’s school anyway. That would be the perfect time to teach Quinn to cook. “So then while Bastian is in Undying school, you’ll be attending cooking classes.”
    His eyes went wide with worry. “You’re kidding, right? Do you have any idea the damage I could do in a cooking school? I could blow up the whole place.”
    She bit her lip to keep from laughing. She padded over to him and petted her hand down his chest just because he was there and she could touch him. “How about private lessons?”
    “Who’s the instructor?”
    She did her best flirty girl pose and batted her eyes at him. “Me.”
    A grin spread out over his face. “Sold. When do we start?”
    “After I’ve had two cups.” She rested the side of her face against his chest. “Dare I stop to think about what is happening to us?”
    * * * *
    Donovan wrapped an arm around her and then dropped his chin on top of her head. His whole being felt a little lighter to have that one person who realized he was more than his power and his title. “That depends?”
    She tilted her head back to look at him. “On what?”
    “If we need to think about magic arranged marriages.” He bent down and brushed his mouth over hers. Her lips were soft like silk. His desire to take this mating further was strong and egged on by the treòir , but he held his power in check. Spooking her or demanding things that would come in time was pointless and counterproductive, even if having her breasts mashed up against his chest was driving him to distraction.
    She rested her head against his solid muscle for a moment before she pulled away and retreated to the coffee maker. “What if I had married Mason?”
    The treòir twitched. Donovan gritted his teeth as he struggled with its spike of anger. The treòir had less understanding of human interactions and didn’t always know why he couldn’t react in violence toward something that upset him. He leaned back against the L-shaped counter top and studied her for a long moment. “Mason would have been killed, and you’d have been freed to do whatever you want.”
    She blanched. “That’s a bit drastic, don’t you think?” She turned and poured coffee into the mugs.
    “Being tagged as a meirlock is a death mark. There is no escaping the sentence.” He crossed his arms over his chest. This was where the difficult parts of bonding started. Human women didn’t find understanding Undying law easy. Mason was an Earth Warrior. No prison in any realm would be able to hold him, and once the treòir inside turned down darker paths, there was no bringing it back.
    She sucked in a breath. “Bastian!”
    Donovan leaned over her and firmly put the mug back on the counter before turning her around to face him. “Bastian is a child. Has he killed anyone in cold blood?”
    Her lower lip trembled. “No. He gets into fights sometimes at school. He just got expelled again yesterday because he was trying to protect one of the girls from something stupid one of the other boys said.”
    Donovan stooped down until he was right at eye level with her. “He only needs a better way to control his treòir and some guidance on how to handle those situations.”
    “You’re sure?” she demanded.
    “I am.”
    “Coming in, my lord.”
    Donovan shook his head when he heard the voice of his Storm Warrior in his head. He refocused on Haven. “I am sure Bastian will be fine. He’s only in need of a little fatherly guidance, and we’re about to have company.”
    Her brow furrowed, and then the walls shook as Donovan went to the door that appeared to be nothing more than a closet. When he opened the door, Memphis walked out. “I hate to bother you this early, my lord, but—” Memphis took a step toward Haven and leaned forward as he stared at her for a moment and then took in Donovan’s lack of dress and then back to Haven. “She’s wearing your shirt.”
    “Aye,” Donovan said, letting out a long sigh. “It’s not as it appears,