Read Online Broken by Erin M. Leaf - Free Book Online Page A

her cave, trapping her
inside. “Get out of my way.”
    Jaxt growled. “You have lost your faculties, woman!”
    She
stalked forward, axe raised. “I’ve killed Xyrans before, for less.”
    Zoen put
a hand on Jaxt’s arm. “Let her be. She will
understand soon enough.” He drew his kin out into the open.
    Sky
wavered between running for freedom and running to the back of her cave for
clothes.
    “We
will not harm you, Sky,” Zoen said quietly. He stood
in the sunlight, nude and gorgeous. He still held the single golden knife in
his hand.
    Sky
wanted to hit him. Instead, she snatched his knife from his hand and tucked it
into her pocket.
    “I
will get you a power cell. You can stay here until I come back.” She pivoted and
grabbed her clothes, ignoring the thunderous look on Jaxt’s face and the sad one on Zoen’s . They were not her
responsibility. She had to take care of herself. No one else would do it for
her.
    ****
    “Let
her go,” Zoen murmured.
    “She
is our mate,” Jaxt growled, enraged. “Her blood has
mingled with yours and mine. That is not something one can simply ignore. All
the others will know the moment they scent her.”
    “And
she will kill them if they try to harm her. She is strong. And she has my
blade.” Zoen flipped another one of the knives over
and over in his hand, a nervous tick that told Jaxt his kin wasn’t nearly as calm about this as he pretended to be.
    He
took a deep breath and let it out. “She will understand soon enough, you say.”
    Zoen nodded. “I do not think her life had been easy.”
    Jaxt snorted. “Whose is?” He wanted to run after her and tie her up, force her to
understand what her words felt like to him. If she truly repudiated them, they
would have to live the rest of their lives with a broken piece of their psyche.
“Can she not feel the difference?” He reached out, not even having to look, and
plucked Zoen’s blade from the air. He was energized
and stronger. He knew exactly where Zoen was, without
even trying.
    “I
have heard the Alphans bond with their mates and it
gives them great power,” Zoen murmured.
    Jaxt went
still.
    “And
we are, as you know, half- Alphan ,” Zoen continued.
    “What
are you suggesting?” Jaxt demanded.
    Zoen shrugged. “I feel you, here,” he said, clenching his fist and putting it to his
chest. “I feel Sky.”
    Jaxt’s gut clenched. “No one must discover this.”
    Zoen’s golden eyes glittered, then began to shift.
    Jaxt stared, stunned.
    When Zoen’s eyes were the solid black of any other Xyran , he smiled. “They’re black, aren’t they?”
    Jaxt nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
    “I
thought so. I felt myself change last night. My control is even better, now.” Zoen tipped his head down. When he looked up, his eyes had
gone back to his usual gold. “This bonding has given me power. What has it
given you?” He looked down at Jaxt’s thigh. “Your
scars are almost gone. You have healed a week’s worth in one night.”
    Jaxt clenched his fists. Healing was good. But— “What has it given Sky?”
    ****
    Sky
laced her vest tightly, then buckled her precious
phase blade to her belt. She’d managed to tape Zoen’s golden knife to her inner thigh with the last of her duct tape. It chafed, but
it might come in handy. A woman could never have too many sharp things hidden
about.
    “Where
did you get that phase weapon?” Jaxt asked, anger still
riding his voice.
    She
tossed her hair. “I traded for it a year ago.”
    He
frowned, but she ignored him as she grabbed the pouch of gems she would need to
exchange for a full power cell. She eased them into her vest, between her
breasts, and tied the pouch’s strings to the loop she’d sewn inside for just
that purpose. It would be uncomfortable, but it was the safest spot for
transporting that much wealth.
    “You
have gems?”
    She
gave him a disgusted look. “How do you think I live here by myself?”
    “You
never told us,” Zoen said, coming up