Page 29 of Elas (Mate’s Mark #2)

August

I don’t know what surprises me the most—finding out Elas is my mate, that impromptu handjob in the file room where anyone could’ve found us, or my lack of freaking out.

We don’t speak as we walk along the path to the barracks. Elas throws me a few concerned glances, his brow furrowed slightly, but I counter them with a reassuring smile.

I guess he expected more panic from me, too.

Instead, I’m floating in peaceful bliss. My entire body is tingling and drowsy, every single muscle relaxed. Naps aren’t usually my thing, but I’m ready to curl into Elas’s warmth and sleep for hours.

Something tells me by the end of this conversation, however, that peace will be gone.

“Need a drink, doc?” Elas asks as we walk inside, and I nod as he closes the door behind us.

My anxiety creeps back as I sit on the couch, my spine too straight as he fetches two waters from the fridge.

When he notices my rigid posture, he flashes me a teasing grin.

“I knew the stress would hit you eventually.”

“I’m not stressing,” I lie, and he rolls his eyes as he walks over and sinks onto the cushion beside me.

“There is so much tension coming off you right now that I’m pretty sure I’m grinding my teeth for you.

” He sits the bottles down and leans closer, one of his thumbs dragging along my jawline.

“I would’ve thought you’d be more relaxed after that.

” My cheeks burn as that troublemaker grin spreads. “There’s my cute blushing doc.”

“Menace,” I mumble, and he laughs as he presses his lips to mine. Unlike the frantic, desperate kisses earlier, this one is controlled and sweet. I savor it all—the heat of his tongue as it brushes against mine, the scrape of his tusks, and the soft panting of breath that blows across my skin.

After a few minutes, he sighs and pulls back, and I grudgingly let him separate us. “There’s a lot we need to talk about.”

“Yeah,” I agree, tucking myself under his arm.

He chuckles and tugs me closer, and the weight over my shoulders grounds me.

“Could we start from the beginning? You said there was a prophecy?” Elas nods, and I’m quiet as he shares the story that’s been passed among his people ever since they invaded.

According to the prophecy, their brutality was punished by the closing of the rifts, and the ensuing destruction of their home was a consequence that forced them into a life alongside humanity.

From there, the narrative is less factual and more speculation, becoming a tale about those destined to be together, and how their connections will reverse the damage.

“It’s a beautiful thought, isn’t it?” I muse. “That love might be enough to repair this broken world? But how are mates supposed to fix anything?”

“If the answer to that question was ever shared, I’ve never heard it.

” Elas absentmindedly leans over to press a kiss on my temple, and I smile at the gesture.

“When the prophecy was first told, we all waited for it to happen. But then years went by… then decades… and after a while, it almost became a joke. Until Ronan’s mark appeared—”

“Wait,” I interrupt, twisting to face him. “Ronan… your friend Ronan? As in, Cameron’s Ronan?”

Elas chuckles and nods. “That’s the one.”

“Does that mean he and Cameron are mates?”

“Sure are,” he says with another soft squeeze.

A grin digs into my cheeks, trying to imagine prickly Cameron being coupled up and cozy with a mate. “I’m happy for them. Cameron was so jaded…”

“Still is,” he mutters.

“… and knowing he has someone is a relief. He would never admit it, but he seemed so lost out there on his own. He deserves the same sense of comfort that I get when I’m with you.” My neck burns when I realize what I’ve said, and Elas tosses me a teasing grin.

“Going sappy on me, doc?”

“Oh, hush, you,” I say, and I swat his stomach with the back of my hand. He grunts, even though I know he barely felt it through the dense layer of muscles. “You thought they were the first mates? ”

Elas nods, back on track. “Yeah. Until you told me about that flyer, I thought they were the first.” He snorts a quiet laugh, shaking his head.

“Ronan and his flair for dramatics would’ve loved to hold that claim to fame.

But warnings about shining marks being distributed to the public?

A file with glow written on it? It was all too convenient to be a coincidence, and then Commander Khors all but confirmed it. ”

He shares their conversation, backtracking to the beginning. He explains how he and Ronan broke Cameron out of the prison and how Ronan came to see him before their rendezvous. Their prior commander was killed the same night, and Ronan never returned.

Commander Khors’s concern that Ronan was involved with Bravis’s death makes sense now that I have these missing pieces.

If someone threatened his mate, Ronan’s protective instincts would’ve proven impossible to fight.

And according to Elas, driving a sword through his neck sounds like it would match Ronan’s energy.

“He also wanted to talk about you,” Elas says, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he pulls his lip between his teeth. “Chief Aeliphis reported that you discovered that file room, and he’s showing far too much interest for my liking.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I offered to keep an eye on you,” he snorts, rubbing at his jaw.

“He admitted Ljómur is a secret base… a research facility. When I asked him to clarify, he told me to take a wild guess. My kind aren’t exactly original with their names, but come on.

Naming the place glow ? They’re studying mates there—I’d bet my life on it. ”

“To what end, though?”

His lips pull into a grim line as he shakes his head. “That’s the part I can’t figure out, but there are multiple layers to this. It goes higher than I could’ve imagined. If they’ve been rounding up mates all these years…”

“Something’s happening,” I finish for him, and he nods.

“Something big, I’m afraid.” He pulls me close and we sit in silence for a few minutes, both of us absorbing everything we just shared with each other. The fact that the commander is asking questions about me is… not good.

This precarious dual agent role Elas has placed himself in is dangerous, and it would only take one misstep for everything to unravel. If Khors ever discovered he’s not only protecting Ronan, but harboring his own mate…

Something tells me the consequences would be fatal.

“Could we leave?” I whisper, afraid to voice the question any louder in case he thinks I’m being ridiculous. He has decades of service and loyalties to the military, and we’ve only known each other for a few weeks. Even if the fates have woven our destinies together, I’m nobody to him.

Not really.

A mark on his hand may not be enough to change that.

“I think we might have to, baby,” he whispers back, and a rush of sweet relief floods my body, washing away the heavy dread that had slowly been weighing on my shoulders.

It’s like we’re sharing a mind as I twist, and he grabs my thigh and guides me to straddle his lap.

“We have to do it the right way, though. If we leave in the middle of the night, they’ll never stop chasing us.

After what happened with Ronan, Khors wouldn’t let that level of insult go unpunished.

He wouldn’t give up. On his own, he isn’t much of a threat, but with the power of the military at his disposal…

” The words trail away before his eyes land on mine with a clear promise behind them. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know you won’t.” Our lips meet again, drawn together like magnets as he kisses me with a steady reverence. I melt into the kiss as his lips move with mine, his hands trailing up and down my spine.

He doesn’t take it further, though, separating us as my breathing gets heavier. He won’t be distracted from what he needs to say. “We have to be careful in the future. No more sneaking around and stealing stuff. If you were caught…”

“I know I would be in trouble.”

His eyes are harsh as they meet mine. “You wouldn’t be in trouble, August, you’d be dead . You’re already under their magnifying glass, and if they found you poking around, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill you on the spot.”

“No one saw me,” I say defiantly, shuffling under the scrutiny of his stare, but he grips my chin and forces my eyes to stay on his.

“These aren’t humans we’re talking about, August, and we aren’t bound by your same limited senses. They might not have seen you, but did they hear you?” Anxiety clamps across my chest as I bite my bottom lip, remembering the quiet hallway.

Was it possible someone heard my footsteps? The swing of the hinges? The near-silent flutter of paper ?

My racing heart, even locked inside that room?

“No, I… I don’t think so,” I stammer, but Elas’s lip lifts in a snarl.

“Could they smell you after you left?”

“I don’t… I don’t know,” I choke out, and to my absolute horror, fresh tears burn in my eyes.

Elas doesn’t seem to notice as he pushes out a frustrated sigh.

“You got away with it today, but next time you might not be so lucky. No more sleuthing, alright? No more snooping or sneaking around, because you’ll end up getting caught.

What am I supposed to do then?” His voice raises as his frustration comes to a head, and those tears are precariously close to slipping free.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, and his eyes lock on mine as my voice cracks. I can’t stop the tremble in my lip as I consider everything that could’ve gone wrong today.

“Fuck, August, no… I made you cry. Don’t do that. Don’t cry, baby. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Elas’s tone is infinitely softer as another of those pained whines leaves his throat.