Page 26 of Frosty and the Reaper
“Blessings to our mating.”
And with a single bite, they were both gifted with the sweetness of life.
Chapter Nine
Their visit tothe Fae Realm didn’t exactly go according to plan.
The moment Zander and Kami teleported to the great hall of the Winter Palace, he stalked over to where Micah Volt was sitting at the long dining table and slammed his fist into his face.
The surprise attack startled everyone in the room into a stunned silence.
The blow had knocked the new King of the Winter Palace off his chair. He sat up where he had landed on the ground and rubbed at his jaw. “Oww! What the fuck?”
Zander hadn’t been planning on attacking him. In fact, a few seconds ago, he had been mentally reminding himself to behave. He’d been determined to make a good impression and avoid any unnecessary tension to help ease Kami’s nerves about returning to the Fae Realm. Friendliness had never come naturally to him, but he could at least be civil.
Obviously, he had fucking failed.
In his defense, Zander’s love for Kami completely eclipsed any semblance of logic or self-restraint. Her mere existence had completely altered his life. She made him feel emotions he hadn’t known he was capable of, transforming him into someone he barely recognized. Whenever she was near, the careful façade he usually presented to the world dissolved, replaced by raw instincts and a fierce urge to protect her at all costs.
As soon as they arrived, all his carefully laid plans for peaceful greetings dissolved the instant the painful shadows of Kami’s past flickered through his mind. Returning to the place where she had suffered so many injustices had overwhelmed his senses, and before he could stop himself, he had lashed out.
His reaction was not simply a matter of impulse.
It was a reflection of the profound bond they shared.
During their time together, he had reviewed most of her memories through their bond. His goal had been to understand who she was in order to be a better mate to her, but he was unprepared for just how deeply her pain would affect him. After witnessing all of the sick, twisted things her birth mother had done to her, he knew what she had told him was only the surface of her true suffering.
Her psychological wounds surpassed any of the physical scars she’d ever received. While the marks on her body had been healed with the magical waters in their home, her mental scars were far more difficult to erase. Despite her insistence that she had moved on, the dark shadows of her traumatic experiences still lingered in her mind. They resurfaced in moments of vulnerability and threatened to overwhelm her with fear and doubt, influencing how she saw herself and the world around her.
No amount of magic could wipe those memories away completely, nor could soothing words undo the emotional turmoil left behind by her birth mother’s betrayal and cruelty. Her father turning away from her had also hurt her far more than she wanted to admit. While she didn’t blame him, the resentment for being blamed for something she hadn’t done was still there.
Zander knew that was the main reason she had expected him to deny their mating. If he had chosen to hate her because of her connection with the Goddess of Illusions, she would have accepted it. She had also been prepared for him to blame her for what had happened with the curse.
If he had done so, it would have been unfair to both of them.
He knew emotional responses were rarely logical. The process of healing her psychological damage would be ongoing. A mindset couldn’t be changed overnight. All he could do wasoffer her his unwavering support and continue to prove that he loved her and valued her above all else.
Even if she were able to completely move on and let go of her past, he wasn’t sure he could. The depths of his feeling for her made it almost impossible to suppress his reactions when it came to her well-being. He would never forget anyone who had caused her pain. Because of that, Micah Volt had earned a punch to the face.
“Why in hellfire did you hit my mate?” Jackie demanded, placing herself in front of Micah as if she could shield him from additional attacks.
Zander considered issuing an apology, then thought fuck it. He might as well be brutally honest if they were going to be family. If his first impression was the worst, it could only go up from there.
“Were you aware that Kami was still being tortured by her birth mother after you were mated?”
His calm tone cut through their outrage like a knife. After they were mated, Micah had put a stop to the crazy goddess punishing Jackie. He’d made it very clear he would bring the wrath of hellfire down on her if she ever hurt his mate again. But that had left Kami to deal with her alone.
To be fair, Kami hadn’t told them about all the punishments she had received while Jackie and Crispin had been away at school. Still, Zander was furious that they hadn’t done anything to stop it.
Both Jackie and Micah turned pale, and their gazes flickered over to Kami. They scanned her thoroughly from head to toe as if searching for injuries. There was a moment of confusion as they took in her changed appearance, then their eyes widened with shock when they both noticed the unique mating mark on her neck.
As if seeking comfort from their intense scrutiny, Kami moved to his side. He automatically linked their hands together and pulled her closer.
Micah’s gaze caught that action. His jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth, then he slowly rose to his feet. “I should have noticed the signs. I’m sorry, little sister.”
“It’s not your—”
“He’s right,” Jackie admitted in a clipped tone. She sighed, and her voice softened when she spoke directly to her sister. “Even though we were spelled not to speak of those things, I should have found a way. I should have done more to stop her.”