Almost Mates
448 Words
They didn’t talk about the storm.
Not the next morning. Not when the council quietly sealed the eastern tower. Not when whispers followed them through the halls like shadows.
Instead, the bond changed.
It softened.
Kai felt Alexei now not as a spike of tension, but as a constant presence—steady, restrained, always aware. Like standing back-to-back in a fight neither of them had agreed to but both would finish.
They were assigned shared quarters under the guise of “stability monitoring.”
Alexei didn’t argue.
That frightened Kai more than anything else.
The chambers were larger than Kai’s old one—two beds separated by a low table, a shared hearth, a balcony overlooking the valley. Neutral ground.
The first night was unbearable.
Kai lay awake, staring at the ceiling, acutely aware of every shift of Alexei’s weight, every controlled breath. The bond hummed low and warm between them, like a third presence curled in the space.
“You’re not asleep,” Alexei said quietly.
Kai smiled faintly. “Neither are you.”
Silence stretched.
Then Alexei spoke again, softer. “You shouldn’t have anchored me.”
Kai turned his head, eyes finding Alexei in the dim light. “You’d be dead.”
“That might have been easier.”
Kai sat up abruptly. “Don’t say that.”
Alexei did too, tension coiling instantly. “You don’t get to decide my worth.”
“No,” Kai agreed. “But I get to decide whether I let someone die in front of me.”
Their gazes locked.
Something fragile trembled between them.
Alexei exhaled slowly. “What happens when this… grows?”
Kai didn’t pretend not to understand. “We survive it.”
“And if it becomes more?”
Kai’s voice dropped. “Then we decide.”
The bond warmed—gentle approval.
Alexei’s throat bobbed. “The moon doesn’t allow choice.”
Kai leaned closer, close enough that Alexei could feel his warmth without touching. “It allows resistance.”
For a moment—just a moment—Alexei leaned in too.
Their foreheads nearly touched.
Kai’s breath caught.
Alexei closed his eyes.
The bond surged, not hot, not wild—tender. Like a question asked in a whisper.
Alexei pulled back suddenly, standing. “We need boundaries.”
Kai nodded, heart pounding. “Okay.”
Alexei paused at the edge of the room. “But… stay close tonight.”
Kai’s breath stuttered. “Yeah.”
Alexei lay back down, this time closer than before.
Kai did the same.
Their hands didn’t touch.
But the space between them burned.
And somewhere above Frostveil, the fractured moon glowed faintly brighter—as if pleased.
- Writer
