Page 72 of Crossing Between

I closed the velvet box and returned it to the drawer. Soon, but not tonight. Tonight was for something simpler, for wine and probably burned food and Kenji's terrible jokes and Elias's patient explanations of whatever obscure topic had caught his interest this week.

For the family I never thought I wanted. Never thought I could have.

I gathered my coat, switching off the desk lamp. The paperwork could wait until tomorrow. Some things, I was finally learning, could not.

Kenji

I watched them from across the table, my chosen family bathed in the warm glow of candlelight.

Varon had brought an obscenely expensive bottle of wine as requested, though Zoey's cooking hadn't been the disaster Elias predicted.

The lasagna was only slightly burned around the edges, practically a culinary triumph by my standards.

"And then," Elias continued, his cheeks flushed from laughter and wine, "Bradley walks in with this completely straight face and says, 'Ma'am, I regret to inform you that summoning hellhounds in a residential area violates at least four city ordinances.' The poor woman nearly fainted!"

Zoey snorted into her glass while Varon's lips curled into that almost-smile I'd grown to cherish. The rare one that reached his eyes, softening the hard edges of his immortal face.

I leaned back in my chair, savoring the moment.

My oni senses picked up everything with heightened clarity.

Zoey's citrus perfume mingling with the rich tomato sauce, the steady rhythm of Elias's heartbeat beside me, the electric current of Varon's controlled power across the table.

These details I'd once taken for granted now felt like precious gifts.

Beneath the table, I extended my awareness, focusing on the magical threads that had been increasingly visible to me since Zoey had entered our lives .

I closed my eyes briefly, letting my other sight take over.

They appeared slowly, shimmering like spider silk caught in morning sunlight.

Red threads, vibrant and pulsing with life, connecting each of us to the others.

The strongest one bound me to Zoey, no surprise there.

I'd seen her in my visions for years before we met.

But the intensity of the connections between all four of us still took my breath away.

Varon's thread was thick and sturdy with ancient power flowing through it. It had started as the thinnest strand when I first joined his team, so fragile I feared it might snap with his next disapproving glance. Now it hummed with unspoken promises.

Elias's connection glowed with a steady, calming blue-tinged light, the kraken's influence changing the very nature of the bond. His thread had formed gradually, woven together strand by strand through quiet conversations, friendship that was meant to be more, and shared battles.

And at the center of it all was Zoey. Our little soulbinder, who didn't truly realize her every touch, every laugh, and every moment spent in her presence was a gift.

"Kenji? Hello? Earth to oni!" Zoey's voice pulled me back to the present, her fingers snapping playfully in front of my face.

"Sorry," I grinned, blinking away the magical sight. "Just thinking."

"Well, that's dangerous," Varon drawled, refilling my wine glass.

"Very funny, vampire boy." I winked at him. "I'll have you know I was having deep, philosophical thoughts."

Elias raised an eyebrow. "About?"

The truth spilled from my lips before I could stop it. "About how fucking lucky I am."

A brief silence fell over the table, not uncomfortable but weighted with meaning. Zoey's eyes softened as she reached to squeeze my hand.

"We're the lucky ones," her voice gentle.

The sudden tightness in my chest threatened to overwhelm me. I, who had spent years wandering alone before finding Varon's team, now sat surrounded by people who gave a damn if I lived or died. People who knew what I was, all that I was, and chose to stay anyway.

Without warning, I stood up and moved around the table to Zoey. She looked up at me, surprise and warmth mingling in her expression. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, pouring every ounce of gratitude and love I couldn't verbalize into the pressure of my lips against hers.

She responded immediately, her hands sliding up to grip my shoulders. I tasted wine and tomato sauce and that indefinable sweetness that was Zoey. When I pulled back, her eyes were slightly dazed, lips parted.

"What was that for?" She whispered.

"Because I can," I then turned to Elias beside me.

The kraken's eyes were already darkening, the irises expanding as they always did when his emotions ran high.

I tangled my fingers in his braided blonde hair and pulled him toward me, claiming his mouth with the same fierce tenderness.

He tasted of the ocean, wild and deep, a perfect contrast to Zoey's sunshine warmth.

When I released him, I cast a deliberately provocative glance at Varon across the table. The vampire's eyes had gone molten, pupils dilated with desire he was too proud to openly acknowledge.

"You're next, ancient one," I promised, my voice dropping to a husky register that made Zoey shiver visibly beside me. "As soon as you finish your wine."

Elias

I sank my hands into the warm, soapy water, feeling the tension of the last few days slowly melting away. The kitchen was quiet save for the soft clinking of dishes and the low hum of conversation from the living room.

Now, as everyone relaxed in various states of food coma, I'd volunteered for cleanup duty. There was something meditative about washing dishes by hand, even when Varon's kitchen undoubtedly housed a top-of-the-line dishwasher somewhere.

I sensed her before I heard her, a subtle shift in the energy of the room, a warmth that seemed to radiate toward me. Then came the soft padding of bare feet across tile, and finally, a playful bump against my hip.

"Room for one more?" Zoey's voice light and teasing as she sidled up next to me at the sink.

I glanced down at her, my chest tightening at the sight.

She'd borrowed one of my t-shirts after spilling sauce on hers during dinner, and it hung on her frame, slipping off one shoulder to reveal the smooth curve where her neck met her collarbone.

Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, several strands escaping to frame her face.

"Always," I replied, shifting slightly to make space. "Though I'd expect you to be taking advantage of your champion status to avoid chores."

She laughed, the sound like music. "Champion only until the next rematch. Besides, many hands make light work, right?"

As she reached for a plate, her arm brushed against mine.

I felt it instantly, the warm, pulsing sensation radiating from my mate mark.

Unlike the painful burning when we'd first met, now it felt like sunshine spreading through my veins, a gentle reminder of our connection.

I'd grown to love that feeling, to crave it even.

"I'll wash, you dry?" I suggested, passing her a clean plate.

"Deal."

We fell into an easy rhythm, moving around each other as if we'd been doing this dance for years instead of just recently. When she stretched to put away a glass on a high shelf, I reached above her, my chest pressing against her back as I easily set it in place.

"Show-off," she muttered, but I caught the smile in her voice.

"Just using my natural advantages," I teased back, dropping a kiss on the top of her head before returning to the sink.

Her scent enveloped me. My mark pulsed again, content and warm. The Kraken inside me, usually restless and hungry, settled into a satisfied purr.

I glanced over my shoulder toward the living room and couldn't help the low chuckle that escaped me.

Varon had Kenji pressed against the wall, one hand tangled in the oni's dark hair as they kissed with the same intensity they brought to everything, part passion, part battle for dominance.

Kenji's hands were gripping Varon's hips hard enough to bruise anyone who wasn't a vampire, pulling him closer even as he bit at Varon's lower lip.

"What's so funny?" Zoey asked, following my gaze. "Oh."

Her soft exhale held no surprise, only appreciation. She leaned against me, her hip pressing into mine as we both watched the scene unfold for a moment.

"They're something else, aren't they?" Her voice carried a note of wonder.

I nodded, feeling a rush of affection and desire so strong it almost overwhelmed me. "They always have been."

Zoey sighed happily, resting her head against my arm. "I still can't believe this is real sometimes. All of you, it feels like a dream."

The raw honesty in her voice struck a chord in me. I turned back to the dishes, needing the mundane task to anchor me as emotions threatened to overflow.

"I know the feeling," I admitted quietly, scrubbing at a stubborn spot on a plate. "For years, I watched them, loved them from a distance, never thinking...."

I trailed off, remembering those long years of silent longing.

Watching Varon's careful control and wishing to be the one who could make him lose it.

Seeing Kenji's boundless energy and wanting to be the one he directed it toward.

Always holding back, convinced my Kraken nature would be too much, too dangerous, too monstrous.

And then Zoey had walked into our lives, somehow connecting all the pieces that had been floating separate for so long. My mate, my kaerasta, the missing part of my soul.

"Never thinking what?" Zoey prompted gently, taking the clean plate from my hands.

I met her eyes, letting her see everything I usually kept hidden. "Never thinking I could have this. Any of this. All of this."

The truth of it settled in my chest. Here I was, doing dishes with my mate while the two men I'd secretly loved for years made out in the living room. It was domestic and bizarre and perfect in a way I couldn't have imagined.

"The universe works in mysterious ways," Zoey's lips quirked up in a smile as she dried the last plate. She set down her towel and turned fully toward me, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from my face. "But I think it got this one right, don't you?"

In answer, I leaned down, capturing her lips with mine in a kiss that held all the words I couldn't yet say.

My mark hummed with contentment, spreading warmth throughout my body.

Behind us, I heard Varon's low growl and Kenji's answering laugh, the sounds of my chosen family, my pack, my everything.

For the first time in centuries, the kraken inside me was at peace. No longer fighting for control or threatening to consume me. Instead, it curled contentedly around my heart, finally home.