Flawless Evans, Gabrielle (ebook smartphone .txt) 📖

to be sorry for, love.” He stroked Kieran’s hair, his shoulders, and down his back. The roles had reversed, and he now found himself the comforter. Surprisingly, it was a position in 78 Gabrielle

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which he was completely comfortable. As much as he needed Kieran, he was beginning to realize that Kieran needed him as well.

There was a reason they were meant for each other. From their shared souls and their past lives all the way to the present moment, they were so intricately connected, each designed solely for the other.

It was the reason that none of their past relationships had worked, why everything felt hollow and superficial.

“They were witches, weren’t they?” Kieran asked. “I only made it to the front lawn when I realized how immature I was acting. They stepped out of the trees just as I turned around to go back inside.” Lynk swallowed hard and dipped his head once. “Yes, they were witches. They wanted the Book of the Banished.” That book had caused so much trouble for so long. There had to be a way to destroy it. They just had to find it. “I came for you when I felt the magic in the air, but I wasn’t fast enough. I watched the dagger sink into your chest and wanted to die.” Lynk dropped his head and squeezed his eyes closed. “They gave me my wish when I wouldn’t tell them where the book was.”

Kieran didn’t reply, seemingly lost in thought, and Lynk went back to gliding his fingertips along his lover’s spine. They’d both made mistakes in the past, but that didn’t mean that history had to repeat itself. Lynk wouldn’t let it.

“It’s kind of like I’ve been playing a game,” Kieran mused, his muscles finally relaxing under Lynk’s attention. “Do you know what I mean?”

Not a clue. “Tell me.”

“Well, it’s like I’ve never really fit anywhere. I’ve always taken care of my siblings, and I was the beta of my old pack. I’ve done what I was supposed to do for my entire life, but I’ve always just kind of felt like a zombie.” He cuddled Lynk closer and nuzzled against him.

“I don’t feel like that anymore.”

Flawless 79

“I don’t feel like that, either.” While he didn’t fully understand what Kieran’s life had been like, he did know about feeling empty and misplaced.

Claiming Kieran was like coming home. It didn’t necessarily change the things he craved, but it did give him a sense of completeness that he’d been missing. Somehow, someway, he’d figure out how to curb his desires. Things would work this time.

Everything would be perfect.

A feeling of protectiveness washed over him, something he’d never felt for anyone except his brothers. It didn’t make a lot of sense.

Kieran didn’t need protection, especially not from someone so much smaller than him. It was there all the same, though.

“Do you remember when I taught you how to swim?” Lynk blinked several times before he burst into laughter. “It was the middle of November, and you threw me in the river. I don’t think that exactly counts as ‘teaching’ me to swim.”

“Hey,” Kieran replied indignantly. “I came in after you, didn’t I?”

“I almost drowned, you idiot.”

Kieran chuckled and rolled them so that he loomed over Lynk.

“You still loved me, though.”

His smile softened as he reached up to cup Kieran’s cheek. “I never stopped. It’s been a long time, and I’ve lived several lives, but I never forgot you.” He carded his fingers through Kieran’s short hair.

“I did like the longer hair, though.”

“Then I’ll grow it out.” Kieran said it seriously, and Lynk knew he wasn’t kidding.

Part of him wanted to tell his lover that it didn’t matter what he looked like or how he wore his hair. He’d really loved those long, silky locks, though. So he just smiled and kept his mouth shut.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything.” Kieran rubbed his cheek over Lynk’s palm for a moment before he dipped his head and brushed their lips together. “What do you want to know?” 80 Gabrielle

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“How did you end up in Haven? You said you were the beta for your pack.”

“My dad is the alpha, and he’s a bastard,” Kieran said matter-of-factly. “Pack members were beaten to death for being gay. Cubs were taught to distrust and hate anyone but other werewolves. When my sister and Teegan met and realized they were mates, we had to keep it a secret for a long time.”

“That’s horrible.” Lynk couldn’t imagine having to hide how much Kieran meant to him.

“It is. Well, our mother caught them together one day, and she’s not any better than our father. We’ve always stuck together and looked out for each other, so when shit went down, we ran. We hid out for a while until we heard rumors about a place where people were accepted and everyone was taken care of. We sniffed around the place for a few days until I finally made the decision to talk to Stavion. He gave us a home, and for that, I’ll always be indebted to him.”

“I lived south of where they found me in that slaughterhouse in a place near Lake Erie.” His mouth was dry and his throat constricted, trying to keep him from speaking, but Lynk pushed on, anyway. After what Kieran had just shared, it was only fair for him to divulge his past as well. Besides, they couldn’t move forward in their relationship until all the cards were on the table.

“I’m going to guess you didn’t live alone.” Lynk didn’t think he imagined the growl in Kieran’s voice, but it wasn’t like his jealous lover had been a choirboy before they’d met, either. “No, I didn’t live alone. It was my Master’s house. He took care of me, paid for everything, bought me whatever I needed.”

“Master?” Kieran sneered the word with so much contempt that it left Lynk feeling cold. “Like how you used to call me Master?”