Free Broken by Erin M. Leaf

cares for
you. So do I .”
    “You
don’t even know me,” she whispered, knowing Jaxt was
right. She lied to herself all the time. She pretended she didn’t need anyone.
She pretended she didn’t care for Jaxt . She pretended
that what happened last night wasn’t real, but in reality, she could feel both Zoen and Jaxt in her mind and
soul, irrevocably lodged for all time.
    “I
do know you, bold Sky. Strong Sky. Courageous
Sky. Just as you know me and Jaxt ,” Zoen said. Then he put his fist to his heart and bowed
slightly to the side, opening the way to freedom.
     

Chapter
Eight
     
    “She
walks into a trap,” Jaxt growled.
    Zoen didn’t reply. His blood-kin bondmate had been in a
foul mood ever since Sky left. They followed her, not even having to discuss
it, but now Zoen was beginning to regret it. She
clearly knew what she was doing. She hiked like a soldier and hunted like a
skilled assassin. They’d been moving for hours, and she didn’t seem tired. She
never let her guard down.
    Jaxt swore when he saw her put a hand out and touch nothing, right in the middle of
a dusty clearing. “A cloak!”
    Zoen ignored him. When the door-sized opening appeared, he realized that they were
on the edge of a fairly extensive human settlement. A hidden
one. “She is going in. We cannot follow her in there.”
    “You
state the obvious,” Jaxt said tightly.
    Zoen put
a hand on his kin’s shoulder. “She will be safe. Those are her people, after
all.”
    Jaxt brushed him off. “Her own people forced her to barter herself for food!”
    Zoen narrowed his eyes, then grabbed Jaxt’s face, forcing him to look at him. “She is a strong woman. That is why she is
ours.”
    Jaxt glared at him. “She is only one person. There will be many humans in there.”
    “And
that is why we will wait here and follow her again when she comes back out.” He
slid his hands to Jaxt’s shoulders. “I trust you with
my life, as you trust me with yours. We must trust her with
her own .”
    Jaxt put
his hands on Zoen’s forearms and grasped him tightly.
“I do not like feeling this way.”
    “Remember
when you found me? I was almost dead from starvation,” Zoen murmured.
    Jaxt’s hands tightened painfully. “I remember all too well.”
    “You
bled so much I worried you would die.” Zoen leaned in
and put his lips to Jaxt’s temple. “But you did not.
Instead, you saved me.” He kissed his way down Jaxt’s cheek. “You lived. So shall Sky.” He touched his mouth to Jaxt’s for the first time, following his deepest instincts. His gums ached as his
fangs descended, but it was a small pain. A welcome pain.
    Jaxt groaned and kissed him back abruptly, all anger and hard edges. When their
fangs nicked each other, their blood mingled in their mouths. Zoen pressed closer. The hot length of his bondmate’s cock pressed against his hip. “She will survive
because we will do anything to keep her safe.”
    Jaxt ground his hips into Jaxt , rubbing their erections
together. “Blood does not lie.”
    Relief
flooded Jaxt . He’d convinced Jaxt toward patience. As a slave, he’d learned that lesson long ago, but Jaxt still struggled with the demands of reality as a Xyran lord. “Blood does not lie,” he replied, kissing him
deeper.
    Jaxt bit
him again, and the taste sent Zoen over the edge. He pulsed out his climax against his bondmate ,
reveling in the heat as Jaxt followed him into
orgasm, groaning into his neck. When their breathing slowed, Zoen slowly extracted his fingers from Jaxt’s hair.
    “Have
faith,” he murmured.
    “Faith
is for the craven,” Jaxt replied, ever contrary.
    Zoen sighed, not particularly surprised.
    “Instead
of faith, we will bring our strength to her fight, whatever it may be,” Jaxt declared.
    What
else could Zoen do but agree? He brought his fist to
his heart. Jaxt mirrored him. Together, they were
strong.
    ****
    Sky
followed the gatekeeper to the small building where they maintained the cloak
for the