White wasn’t the best color for lurking in the shadows, but there was something to be said about the way blood seeped into the material and practically bloomed.

Maybe he should rethink his wardrobe.

He was trying to stick to character though, and this was what he’d found Pavel in that fateful night when this all began.

Well, for him anyway.

The golden ring on his finger gleamed in the moonlight as he worked, eyeing it more than where he cut with the star crystal blade. He’d forgone the scalpel, figuring recreating the scene of their first night as much as he already had would be good enough to please his husband once he finally arrived.

Though he was taking his sweet-ass time getting here.

Zane placed a hand over his victim's mouth for better purchase and then slashed through the major artery, severing the lumpy organ he’d been after. Admittedly, he’d sort of made a mess, a much bigger one than Pavel had managed when he’d done this song and dance, but then again, he was probably more excited.

It hadn’t been their honeymoon then.

Now that he had the heart, Zane peered down at it resting in his palm, and realized…he didn’t know what to do with it. There’d been all that talk about eventually giving him Samuel’s, but that’d never happened.

What had Pavel done with the organ then?

He stood and stepped away from the cooling corpse, absently cleaning his blade off on the side of his white medical jacket. It wasn’t his—it wasn’t even from this planet. Aodhan had given them a rather thoughtful gift for their engagement party, and Pavel had suggested they do something equally touching in return. The plan had come to fruition rather easily after that.

It helped knowing how much his brother’s coworker got on his nerves. Really, the game had practically written itself.

Their official ceremony had been held early this morning, and Zane had invited the entire medical staff at Aodhan’s hospital. Since attending an event put on by an Imperial was a big deal, and true to his word, Kelevra had made sure Lyra’s name was all over it, pretty much everyone had RSVP’d they were coming. Including the fool at Zane’s feet.

He kicked him, still clutching the bloodied mess of an organ, and was grateful he’d had the foresight to change out of his personal clothes from earlier. The suit he’d worn to walk down the aisle had cost a fortune—and not a small one, either—a gift he’d gladly accepted from Kelevra and Rin.

They’d both joked about how he was getting married before them, but Zane hadn’t minded their teasing. With Lyra off his back, it’d been entirely his decision to go through with the wedding before graduation.

She’d made him realize he’d been blind. Up until that point when she’d broken into their home, Zane had allowed fear and doubt to rule him. Despite all of his claims about wanting to be important and needed, the second someone came around promising those things, he’d locked up. It was easier to read other people, to get under their skin and feel around.

Apparently he wasn’t as adept at seeing his own issues for what they were.

But he had Pavel for that now.

He gave the body another swift kick, startling some when a voice called out to him suddenly.

“I’d ask where his heart is, gorgeous,” Pavel drawled, stepping from the darkness with his hands in his pockets, “but that’s fairly obvious.” His gaze dropped to the organ still held aloft in Zane’s right hand.

“I was trying to figure out what to do with it.” He tipped his head. “What’d you do with yours?”

“That’s simple. I gave it to you.” Pavel lifted his left hand and tapped at the matching gold chain band on his finger with a wink.

Zane rolled his eyes. “Cute, but not what I meant and you know it. What did you do with Samuel’s heart? After you cut it out.”

“Oh, that.” He wandered over and took in the mess Zane had made. “It’s still in a glass jar somewhere in the castle on the hill. Should we go find it?”

They were headed that way anyway. It was part of the plan. Part of the game. But Zane pretended to consider it, tossing the organ in his hand like it was a ball before chucking it onto the dead body.

“Let’s be done with this prop,” he suggested. “It’s too cumbersome.”

“It’s served its purpose already,” Pavel said, still looking at the dead guy. “Did he put up much of a fight?”

“Of course,” Zane replied. “Though plying him with six bottles of alcohol at the party was a good call. You made him nice and vulnerable for me.”

“Glad I could be of some service. Though, I will admit I’m surprised you didn’t involve your brother. Surely he could have used some of these…parts.”

“He’s out of that business now that ties with Lyra have been severed.” Which meant Aodhan was going to have to come up with his own way to avoid getting caught when his urges took control. “How’s everything going on that front, by the way?”

Since they’d been offered a lavish wedding, they’d agreed to put it off a month so there’d be plenty of time for planning the ceremony. Though that wasn’t all they’d been cooking up.

“All of the evidence we’ve managed to collect with the help of Aodhan has been officially submitted to the Intergalactic Conference,” Pavel smiled at him. “My guess? We’ll still be honeymoon fucking when the Intergalactic Police Force come for her.”

Organ trafficking was illegal, even for an Imperial. Lyra’s side gig had been extensive too, more so than Zane had even realized, and involved many people, both innocent and otherwise. They’d made sure to leave his brother out of it, concocting ironclad alibis in the off chance Lyra tried to drag Aodhan through the mud with her, but Zane didn’t see it coming to that.

She was far too embarrassed by everything to risk it. The entire galaxy already thought she was a spoiled heiress who couldn’t believe reality when she was turned down by one of her brother’s friends. If she tried to accuse that friend's brother of being a psychopath on top of it all? She’d only be hurting herself more.

“They’ll strip her of her title at best,” Zane surmised, “and lock her up for life at worst.”

“Should we be worried about Kelevra retaliating?”

He shook his head. “Even if Kel does suspect it was us, he won’t do anything.”

It was cold, but Kelevra’s words to his sister back on the island had been factual. He gained more by keeping Zane at his side than he did the Imperial Heir. Go figure.

Pavel sighed in mild disappointment, staring down at Wells. “I wish I could have seen you take him apart. I bet you were beautiful.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Zane lied. “Besides, this isn’t about him. It’s about us.”

“Us.” Pavel grinned. “I like the sound of that, gorgeous. So, what next?” He turned to gaze at Zane, his eyes already beginning to flash that neon shade of yellow. “Is this the part where you order me to run for you?”

“Sort of.” He retreated a pointed step. “This is the part where I order you to hunt me down and teach me a lesson for making you wait so long.”

Pavel’s demeanor shifted, his instincts clearly starting to take over. “That’s incredibly descriptive.”

“I can do better,” he promised. “Here are the terms, Hart. You catch me, you get to breed my holes however you see fit, for however long you want.”

“Holes, plural?”

Zane made a big show of sucking on his own bottom lip, nibbling it before letting it pop back out of his mouth. “If you fail to catch me—” Pavel emitted a low growl, but Zane ignored him, “—you’re the one getting chained to that bed in the castle on the hill. And I’ll get to use you however I want instead.”

“Interesting turn of events.” Pavel’s brow furrowed slightly as it finally occurred to him, “You’re cross with me.”

He wouldn’t even consider taunting Pavel this way if he weren’t.

“Why?” Pavel asked.

“I saw how you allowed Nikita to keep his hand on your shoulder a little too long at the reception,” Zane stated, sneering at just the thought of it.

Pavel blinked at him, some of the glow dimming in his eyes. “…He’s my brother’s boyfriend? You know that. He doesn’t mean anything to me aside from being family, and sometimes family do things like hug and—”

“No,” Zane stated firmly. “Absolutely not. No hugging. No getting nude in front of anyone that isn’t me. And no lingering touches from other people, whether I’m there to catch it or not. Understood , husband ?”

“Who’s being taught the lesson here, really, Doctor? I’m starting to believe it isn’t you at all. This isn’t you rewarding me for making me wait for you all these years, it’s you showing me who’s boss, isn’t that right?”

Zane grinned. “I love how well you see me.”

“I’m about to see you stripped naked and writhing in the moonlight while you take my cock,” he promised darkly.

He retreated another step. “Agree to the terms, Pav.”

“Don’t worry, baby,” he reassured him. “Your possessiveness has been noted. I’ll be more careful from now on. No one else will be allowed to touch me, and in return,” he dropped his gaze down Zane’s body, “I’ll be allowed to touch you. Those are the terms if I’m not mistaken?”

He gave a single nod.

“Then run for me, gorgeous,” Pavel urged. “You have a deal, and once I’ve caught you, you’ll also have my—”

Zane didn’t give him a chance to finish, twisting on his heels and racing through the forest, taking the now somewhat familiar path that would lead him across the bridge and up to the crumbling castle.

Where he’d let Pavel catch him and finally make good on that promise he’d made months ago.

He’d let his husband chain him to the bed and show him all the ways he wanted Zane, until the sun was high in the sky, and there was just the two of them, needing each other more than their next breath.

Like real soulmates would.