Page 27 of Frosty and the Reaper
“Yes, you should have,” Zander agreed bluntly.
“Don’t blame them,”Kami pleaded through their bond.“It was a difficult time for all of us.”
“This is exactly why I suggested therapy,” Crispin muttered from where he was sitting at the table hunched over a bowl of some sort of soup. “We’ve all been screwed up by that crazy goddess’s spells too much for any of us to remain sane.”
“We never claimed to be sane,” Jackie said dryly.
“Let me introduce everyone,” Kami jumped in, trying to break the tension.
As she began rattling off names, Zander took the time to peruse some of their thoughts. Was that a violation? He was sure they would think so, but he called it a simple threat assessment. They were nervous about meeting him. Rightly so. However, he didn’t sense any real animosity or hatred from them.
Zander already knew who everyone in the great hall was from his review of Kami’s memories. The group was dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts of various colors. From the look of them, no one would guess the Queen and King of the Winter Kingdom, a fae prince, and two apex alphas were seated at the table.
While Kami and Jackie had taken after their father with pale blonde hair and ice-blue eyes, Crispin looked more like QueenBianca Frost, with a lean build, dark blond hair, and gray eyes. Since he was attending medical school in the Human Realm, his hair had been cut short, and his pointed ears had been glamoured to look more rounded at the top.
Lia Sparks was the Apex Alpha of the Alicorn Shifters but hadn’t yet come into her true powers. She had thick black hair, a beauty mark in the shape of a heart next to her right eye, and eyes an interesting shade of silvery purple that were a known trait specific to alicorns.
Sitting across the table from her was Kellen Cruz, the Apex Alpha of the Wolf Shifters. He was a big male who almost rivaled Zander in sheer size. His arms were covered with tattoos, and he had hair that was an unusual mix of dark gray, white, and black. Zander felt some of his apex alpha powers pulsing off of him. As his powers grew stronger, he would have to learn how to control that better.
Zander knew Kami was very fond of them and considered them close friends. He was able to relax once he realized just how loyal the shifters were to her. They both credited her for helping them acclimate into the supernatural community, and they had built a solid friendship from the very first day they had met.
Jackie’s thoughts were a little hostile toward Zander, but that was to be expected. He’d hit her mate, but he had pulled the punch so he wouldn’t cause any real damage. It was just enough to teach the young one a lesson. Jackie and Micah loved Kami. Both of them had proven time and again that they would go to extraordinary lengths to ensure her safety and happiness.
Whether it meant standing in front of her or offering emotional support, Jackie had tried her best to protect her little sister. Her protective instincts weren’t born solely out of familial obligation. They were a manifestation of a deep, unbreakable love cultivated through years of shared hardships and triumphs.
The sisters’ bond was a source of strength, not just for Kami and Jackie, but for their entire group of friends. Their support for one another served as an example, creating a sense of unity that spread throughout their close-knit circle.
Micah would have loved Kami simply because his mate did, but she had earned his loyalty when she had welcomed him into their family without hesitation. Kami had never judged him for being a metal mage-dark angel hybrid, nor had she questioned his place by Jackie’s side as the next rulers of the Winter Kingdom. She had been their best supporter, and he would always appreciated her for that.
Crispin was absolutely terrified of Zander. He was waiting for him to condemn him for not doing more to save Kami over the years, but he was a victim, too. Actually, the Goddess of Illusions had done her best to completely destroy him. And when that didn’t work, she had tried to kill him. He had only survived by staying far away from the Winter Kingdom and remaining out of her reach.
He loved his sisters, but he had always thought of himself as more of a hindrance than an asset. He wasn’t a fighter, nor was he particularly useful as anything but a healer. While his siblings excelled in leadership, always ready to defend their loved ones and take decisive action, Crispin often felt overshadowed by their boldness and bravery. He had spent most of his life honing his skills in medicine, focusing on the art of healing rather than confrontation.
Zander mentally sighed. Hurting Crispin would be like hurting a tiny, defenseless animal. And that was something even he wouldn’t do.
Kami sent him an impression of her laughing, which helped ease the last of his ire.“A defenseless animal? You can never say that to him out loud.”
“I didn’t plan to. Forgive me, mate. I deviated from our plan.”
“You sure did,”she agreed with a chuckle.“But I don’t mind since you did it for me. You should give them the fruit and smooth things over.”
“The Tree of Life gifted you the fruit.”
“But we are a unit now, so what’s mine is yours and all that.”
While her words amused him, he was also touched. She wanted him to use the fruit as an offering so her family and friends wouldn’t be so afraid of him. Since that was the case, he was willing to comply.
He allowed Kami to pull him toward the table as he listened to her internal debate on how to introduce him. She decided that listing all of his titles might scare the crap out of them, so she went with the basics.
Wrapping her arms around one of his, she sent the group a cheerful smile. “This is my mate, Zander.”
He nodded in response to their tentative smiles and half-hearted waves of greeting. Unsure how to present the gift, he manifested the two pieces of magical fruit they had received from the Tree of Life into his hand and set them on the table. When everyone just stared at the glowing fruit like they were bombs waiting to go off, he sighed.
“A first meeting gift,” he explained. “Fruit from the Tree of Life. One for you, and the other one is for Nick and Bianca Frost. It might help them recover faster.”
“What the—?” Micah gasped.
“The Tree of Life?” Jackie asked breathlessly. “Like, the real Tree of Life?”