Page 71 of Broken Ties
Instantly my vision whites out as though I’ve been hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Stunned, I almost miss the last step and end up on my ass in front of the the entire council, catching myself at the last second and recovering with barely more than a stumble. With a vicious curse under my breath, I look back over to find that my Bond isn’t actually naked, but she might as well be. My eyes shift to black for a second before I can shove my bond down.
Thankfully, only one person witnesses the near-disaster. Unfortunately for my future peace, that person is Gryphon.
On the other side of the garden, he’s already found the perfect position to keep surveillance over the entire area without having to move around. The small, circular deck surrounds a large oak tree and is definitely a thoughtfully carved-out focal point surrounded by impeccable landscaping, but it’s the higher elevation that gives it the advantage.
He meets my eyes from across the cursed crowd of Gifted that I’m sick of looking at andsmirksat me the moment I have my bond back under control. How the hell he’s unaffected by the sight of our Bond is beyond me—did I mention she’s basicallynaked?!—but even after he turns his back on me and returns to watching over the pool area, he’s as calm as ever.
Meanwhile, I’m consumed by my bond’s jealousy.
It’s the only thing distracting me from my own.
“Councilman Draven, I’m so glad you’re here! Councilman Benson was hoping to speak with you about the funding for the new research into the Bond Markers for his brother’s team.They’re doing some amazing work, far beyond any other labs in the world, and your contributions certainly won’t be overlooked when their findings are published.”
I could murder my assistant right now.
Cold-blooded, violent, and blood-soaked murder, the exact type that befits a Bond with the ‘monster’ label I’ve worn my entire life.
Instead, I paste on a curt smile for Penelope and a genuine one for the brothers standing with her. Neither of the Bensons look pleased with Pen’s approach, but I’m quick to smooth it over.
Greeting Alexander with a nod before turning to shake his brother’s hand, I don’t have to fake the praise in my tone. “I’ve already taken your proposal to the council, Julian, but I’ll personally cover the inevitable shortfall. If it weren’t for the potential inquiries on the ethics and potential motives of the Draven family financing the research, I wouldn’t bother with the council at all, but I’d rather not have the results tarnished by a witch hunt.”
The Bensons first rose to prominence decades ago by pioneering the science around Bond Markers in DNA and the ‘coupling’—what we know as Bonding—that happens at a genetic level. They were able to use blood analysis to not only differentiate between Bonds and Central Bonds but also identify Bond Group numbers. The blood tests are simple, safe, and have never been wrong. They also only look at three markers out of the hundreds there are.
In the decades since, their continued research has identified three dozen marker ‘types’ to distinguish between the different powers that the Gifted wield. Julian Benson is the sole Gifted who is aware that there is something different about the Draven bloodline that sets us apart from other Gifted, that our eyes aren’t the only anomaly we bear. He drew my blood when Iwas a child, under my father’s strict guidelines and supervision, and he tested it entirely in isolation. The amount of paperwork, trust, and boundaries that were established before he was ever allowed near the Draven legacy probably terrified the man, but that curious scientific mind of his pushed him through, and I’m certain he feels as though it’s all paid off.
He’s obsessed with it.
Even now, I let him draw my blood every few months so he has a fresh batch of samples to play with, and I’m even able to convince Nox to visit the lab once or twice a year usually. The fact that Benson has never, not once, breathed a word to anyone in all this time has given him some allowances where Nox was concerned.
Unfortunately, that good will was destroyed when our Bond was found and Benson made the mistake of mentioning that he hoped to run additional tests on our Bond’s blood.
I often wonder how much my father and uncle both knew about my bond. I also wonder how much the Resistance and their sympathizer spies know, because Sharpe’s Bonded, Lois, has spent a decade interfering with Benson’s work.
Her last smear campaign against the ‘monstrous’ Dravens is the reason the council had to take over the funding for the research, but not before years of hard work was rendered useless outside of our own closed-off community. No one believed the findings were scientifically sound with my name attached, as though I’d paid for the ability to give false results to Gifted. What good that would do is beyond me, but it was devastatingly effective.
The Gifted here in the West Coast were unaffected thanks to my position on the council, but there are millions of others around the world who missed out on the benefits of that information while we ran damage control and had to scramble to recreate the tests without my name attached at all.
Julian grimaces at me, sharing a look with Alexander. “Honestly, I’d rather fund it myself, but my hands are tied just the same as yours. I appreciate what you’re doing, North, and I wanted to thank you again personally. I’m aware you’re catching the heat for it to keep it from interfering with my work… and to keep my family out of it.”
It’s easy to accept his gratitude, to give him my own for his tireless work and his loyalty, and we move on to friendly pleasantries. It’s only when Julian mentions his son, Sawyer’s work for the lab and gestures over to the pool that I catch another glimpse of my Bond and lose my head all over again.
With her head tipped back as she laughs, the long line of her throat and bared chest are exposed all the way down to the inadequate scraps of material parading as a swimsuit. She’s stunning, breathtaking, and the undeniable answer to every question I’ve ever had. I forget for one treacherous heartbeat that she’s stubborn, childish, and utterly unrepentant for her selfish actions.
I forget that she loathes the sight of me, even as the sight ofherfills my soul to the brim.
Then her head turns and our eyes meet briefly, the smile melting from her face as the reinforced steel walls snap back into place in those hauntingly blue depths, and I can’t hide from my reality for even a second longer.
The strain of my vicious bond clouds the air around me with pent-up rage and the men both make their excuses and move away tactfully. If I had a council full of Bensons, with a few Hannitys and Rockwells thrown in for comedic balance, I’m certain I’d have the Resistance dealt with in less than a month.
I have to actually dismiss Penelope like a child before she finally leaves me alone, but then I’m stalking over to Gryphon, brushing past a dozen people who attempt to catch my attention.
Barely remembering to keep my voice down, I practically hiss at him, “What thefuckis she wearing?”
Without bothering to interrupt his surveillance to face me, there’s a smirk in his tone that makes me want to strangle him with my bare hands. “It’s called a swimsuit… or more specifically, a bikini. I’m surprised you’ve never heard of one before.”
I really could kill him.
My bond certainly wants to, along with the rest of the Gifted here, and it takes me an entire minute to assume full control of myself once again.