by Lynn Hagen
“Not really,” Jaden admitted. “Never tore the fabric of time before. I might have fucked up.”
“You think?” Panahasi sounded incredulous. “You just gave us front row seats to the end of the world, Jaden. I don’t know about you, but this is a pretty screwed-up way to die.”
The blast waves were getting dangerously close, rolling toward them faster and faster. Jaden closed his eyes and lowered his head. He hadn’t meant to end the world, but Jaden refused to live for eternity without Hilton at his side. Overwhelming grief enveloped him as he thought of his mate lying in that hospital bed dying. “Forgive me, my little bunny.” A tear traced down Jaden’s cheek. “I did this for you.”
Jaden lifted his head, opened his eyes, spread his arms, and welcomed the end.
One second the roar was all Jaden heard, the next, complete silence. The supernovas had simply vanished, dissipating like smoke carried away on the wind.
“You would end billions of lives for one insignificant being?” the Primal Source asked. She sounded completely baffled.
“I would end the entire universe for Hilton,” Jaden defended. “Without him, my existence means nothing to me.”
“Falling in love sucks,” Panahasi said irritably. “Especially when one of the people has the catastrophic power to do this much damage.”
“You don’t have to rub it in,” Jaden growled. “I try to end the universe one time and now I’ll never live it down.”
“At least now you know what it feels like to care about someone,” Panahasi said. “I’d hug it out with you, but I think the Primal Source is about to hand you your ass.”
“You need to experience love,” Jaden said to the darkness, “then maybe you wouldn’t be such an uptight bitch.” Because lord knew he was sick of having this conversation every time he did something the Primal Source didn’t approve of. Getting sucked into the void…well…sucked. And Jaden was anxious to get back to Hilton, to be at his mate’s side when he took his last breath.
Jaden’s throat grew tight as he wished she hadn’t stopped the world from ending. His grief felt so raw that taking a simple breath was nearly impossible.
How anyone lived with this much pain was incomprehensible. If Hilton truly died, Jaden would stop at nothing to end his own life because how could he live without his heart?
“Balance must be kept,” the Primal Source said, ignoring Jaden’s statement.
“Then I give you my life in exchange for Hilton’s,” he said. Jaden still couldn’t see Panahasi, but he said, “Promise me you’ll take care of Hilton.”
“You have my word,” Panahasi said, tears in his voice.
“I will not end your life,” she said.
Untapped rage filled Jaden. “Then I will end it myself.”
Although that meant Panahasi’s would end, as well, his brother remained silent. He floated in the void, awaiting his sentence, but whatever she did to him would pale in comparison to the devastation of losing Hilton.
“A lesson must be learned,” she said. “For one year, Death will be Life, and Life will be Death. You will then know the burden the other must undertake and perhaps come to understand that everything you do has consequences. That for one life you save, another is sacrificed. It is the cosmic chain reaction of your choices. It must be this way in order to maintain balance.”
Before Jaden could say another word, he was back in Hilton’s room. A rush of medical personnel worked on his mate as Hilton continued to flat-line.
“You have the power now,” Panahasi said from beside him. “Save your mate.”
The Primal Source’s warning echoed in Jaden’s head. He knew one life had to be sacrificed for another. That was why he’d fought Panahasi so hard every time his brother saved a life who wasn’t meant to be saved.
But this was his little bunny. Jade couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“I feel the pull to take him,” Panahasi confessed. He tapped his chest. “It’s this overwhelming need, like the need to take a breath.”
Jaden glanced at his brother. “How do I save him?”
“You’ll know how.”
Stepping to the side of the bed, Jaden allowed instinct to take over. He hovered his hand over Hilton’s chest. Seconds later, a brilliant blue light poured from his hand and into Hilton’s body. Jaden felt the sickness being siphoned from his mate to him. The blackness washed through Jaden and he cried out as his body absorbed the disease, the death his mate would’ve suffered had Jaden not interfered.
“You will carry that sickness inside of you always,” Panahasi said. “With any life you save, the burden of their demise dwells inside of you.”
“Why did you never tell me?” Jaden asked as he gazed down at Hilton’s pale features. He never knew the weight of Life’s gift.
“Because it was my responsibility to bear, brother.”
The doctor gasped when Hilton shot into a sitting position, his eyes wide, tearing at the wires attached to his body.
“Calm,” Jaden whispered.
Hilton blinked at him, then threw his arms around Jaden’s neck. His mate began to weep as Panahasi vanished. The nurses and doctor stared strangely at Hilton hugging air, but Jaden didn’t care.
He had Hilton in his arms, alive and healthy.
He willed the medical staff to leave. When they vacated the room, Jaden pulled Hilton from the bed, hugging him tightly. “You’re safe, Hilton. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Hilton laughed through his tears. “I don’t know how you pulled this off, but I’m glad you did.” He began to kiss Jaden all over his face. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Those words made Jaden’s heart feel lighter as he reached between the flaps in Hilton’s gown and gripped his bare ass.
The air stirred, then Panahasi was back in the room, glancing around in confusion. “Why am I here again?”
Then another, more powerful surge shot through the room. A stranger appeared on the opposite side of the bed. Jaden growled, shoving Hilton behind him as he bared his fangs. “Who the fuck’re you?”
For a flash of a second, the Keeper appeared before his image vanished, and the stranger stood in his place once again.
“Keeper?” Panahasi frowned.
This wasn’t the old, decrepit man Jaden was used to seeing. The Keeper was young and gorgeous with stunning pale-blue eyes. He had a head of thick, black hair, a day’s growth lining his jaw, and his suit was impeccable.
“I come in many forms,” the Keeper said, only his voice wasn’t the one Jaden was used to, but one he was all too familiar with. He staggered back, then growled.
“You!” It took every ounce of restraint Jaden possessed not to choke the life out of him. “I should reap your fucking soul, you bastard!”
“And you need to learn that allowing Panahasi to save lives not meant to be saved has a ripple effect,” the Keeper shot back. “We are all burdened with responsibility, Jaden. I allowed you to heal Hilton because he is your mate, but take heed to my warning. Keep interfering with the order of things and I will replace you.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Panahasi said, his eyes narrowed. “You’re the Primal Source? Why the decrepit old man ruse or the voice of a woman?”
“As I told you, I am many forms for many things.”
“And the riddles?”
“I do love a good riddle.” The Keeper grinned. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a hot little number waiting for me. Later, peeps.” Before he exited the room, he glanced over his shoulder. “Heed my warning, men. I won’t be so forgiving next time. If you keep fucking with the order of things, I’ll end the universe myself and start over.”
* * * *
Hilton vibrated with excitement as Jaden stood behind him, his hands on Hilton’s hips. “Can I take the blindfold off now?”
Jaden gave a deep chuckle, and Hilton’s insides sighed at the sound. Never again would he take life for granted, and he would enjoy every day h
e was given to spend with Jaden.
His mate removed the blindfold. Hilton blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the sunlight. He frowned when he saw the house in front of them. “I don’t get it.”
The house was gorgeous. It was white with green trim and had a wraparound porch. A flower garden ran along the bottom of the foundation, and there was a white-picket fence. It was the home Hilton had always dreamed of having.
“It is ours.” Jaden hugged him from behind. “Do you approve?”
Hilton squealed as he spun and threw himself into Jaden’s arms. “I love it!” He pulled away and raced around back. Hilton’s breath left his lungs as he gaped at the secret garden. He followed the winding path as his gaze bounced everywhere, taking it all in. A wall of trees and shrubbery gave the garden a closed-in feel. Plants taller than Hilton wound in every direction, and the garden even had a wooden bench with little fairy and gnome figurines half-hiding close by.
Hilton felt as if he’d stepped into some fairy world. He would be able to shift into his bunny form and run around for hours in delight.
“The inside of the house isn’t this mystical, but I think it’s cozy.”
Hilton grinned as he turned to face Jaden. “You decorated?”
Jaden gave a teasing growl. “Don’t sound so shocked.”
Hilton threw his head back and laughed, then grabbed Jaden’s hand and led him to sit on the bench. He wanted to see inside, but this garden was so perfect that he wanted to appreciate it just a little while longer.
“I’ve decided to cut back on work.” Jaden placed his arms along the back of the bench, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his ankles. Hilton had never seen his mate look so relaxed.
“Can you do that?” Hilton asked.
“Yep. Once I am Death again. I have thousands of reapers working for me. I’m only to be called for the most prestigious or most heinous souls. So that frees up a lot of my time for a certain little bunny.”
“What about enemies?”
“Panahasi and the Keeper helped me place wards on our home and surrounding land. I still want to kill that bastard, though.”
“Panahasi?”
“The Keeper.”
Hilton yelped, then grinned when his clothes vanished. “I do love that trick of yours.”
Jaden was naked, as well. He coaxed Hilton to straddle his lap. “And I love that trick of yours.”
“What trick?” Hilton kissed a path from one side of Jaden’s neck to the other, inhaling deep drafts of his manly scent.
“More of an ability,” Jaden said, his voice husky-deep.
“Still don’t understand.”
Jaden tucked his fingers under Hilton’s chin and gently lifted it until Hilton was staring into his beautiful eyes. “Your ability to make me love you so much that I was ready to end everything if I couldn’t be with you. But I’ll pay any price, just as long as I never lose you.”
What was Hilton supposed to say to that? Jaden had told him what had happened in the void, and Hilton still shivered at the thought of how things could’ve ended. He was also stunned beyond words that his mate had been willing to sacrifice the galaxy because of him.
“You just keep smiling and I’ll keep doing things to make you love me.” Hilton brushed his lips over Jaden’s. “Now stop talking and make love to me.”
Jaden chuckled. “Anything for you.”
When Jaden’s fingers circled Hilton’s hole, they were wet. He really did love the little tricks Jaden possessed. Hilton groaned when Jaden breached him. “I’m too needy, Jaden.”
Jaden cupped the back of Hilton’s head, drawing him in for a deep kiss as he lined the head of his cock up to Hilton’s hole. As he entered Hilton, there was no pain, just pure pleasure, and he knew Jaden took the burn away.
As they sat under the fading sun, Hilton rode his mate, arching his back as Jaden thrust deep inside of him, the sounds of nature all around them.
Hilton knew being with Jaden wouldn’t be an easy life, and enemies would still try to come at them. But in that moment, in his secret garden, making love to the one man who owned him, body and soul, all thoughts of the dangers ahead melted away.
He cupped Jaden’s face as he writhed on his mate’s cock. “I love you, Jaden.”
Happiness shown in Jaden’s eyes as he smiled. “I love you, too, Hilton.”
* * * *
Panahasi stood at the side of the wet road, staring down at the twisted metal that had once been a car. The rain fell in a mist, the headlights still illuminating the dark night.
A small girl around the age of six lay in the middle of the road, her heartbeat slowly fading. Panahasi’s first instinct was to save her, but he wouldn’t have that ability for another ten months.
He dropped to his knees next to her and brushed her pale blonde hair from her face. He couldn’t do it. Panahasi couldn’t reap her soul. She was too damn young. She should’ve had her whole life ahead of her.
Her breaths came out in quick, painful pants.
Panahasi’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I’m so sorry, little one.”
“It—” pant “—hurts.”
“Not anymore.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Her breathing stopped. The pain gone.
She stared up at him, her blue eyes wide. “Where’s my mommy?”
How had Jaden done this since the beginning of time? Robbers, rapists, and those with the blackest of hearts, Panahasi could handle reaping those souls. But this? A small child who had done nothing to anyone?
He now had a new appreciation for the heavy burden Jaden lived with.
The mother had been thrown from the wreckage, as well, but she’d survived. She staggered to them, fell on her backside, then pulled the little girl to her, wailing as she rocked back and forth.
The girl cried, as well, when Panahasi pulled her soul to him, leaving her lifeless body with her mother.
He walked away, holding her tiny hand as his heart broke for the responsibility that was now his to bear, even if only for a short while.
THE END
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