Divine Intervention (Eternal Flames Maddox Book 7) Read online

  Logan cupped his cheek and Jensen leaned into the comforting gesture, absorbing Logan’s warmth. “So that’s when your mother sent you here?” Logan asked in a whisper.

  Jensen shook his head and met Logan’s gaze. “No. She refused to bind my powers, but made a deal with the gods to bring me to Saturnalia , where I would live my life and she would instruct me on my powers until the time came of my thousandth birthday. The gods were still afraid and not happy with her choice. They were afraid I would return one day and take over. So to stop that from happening, they banished me there.”

  “I’m guessing this banishment means you can’t return to heaven, or Arcadia, or whatever, ever?”

  Jensen felt the familiar anguish grab his heart and tears came to his eyes as he replied around the lump in his throat, “Correct.”

  “I’m so sorry, pretty boy. That never should have happened to you. Please tell me that this Saturnalia was at least a nice place for you.”

  Happiness entered him and Jensen smiled shyly, as he answered, “Oh, yes. Saturnalia is the most beautiful garden ever created. It is the true home of fate. Only my mother and those she allows there can enter. It is not where she lives on a day to day basis, but she could if she wanted to. There are beautiful lakes, ponds, and streams, as well as waterfalls, and gardens filled with every type of plant ever created. There are paths that only have plants, and others abundant with flowers. One of my favorite gardens, there is this pond with a small waterfall, trickling water down softly from a creek above, and surrounding the pond are some boulders and soft grass. And along the edges it has big ferns and trees, but in-between and lower to the ground are bushes and plants of all kinds, pregnant with colorful flowers of all kinds and colors, and the most amazing scents surround you and it all just feels so peaceful. Birds sing up in the trees, and frogs chirp as they hop around, dragonflies zip past and flutter around. Little bumble bees hop from flower to flower, pollinating, and sometimes newborn bunnies will hop into the clearing, following their mommy, and nibble on some of the grasses. It is a truly spectacular and peaceful place. I love to sit on the edge and dangle my feet in the pond and just let the sun caress my skin, as I close my eyes and just focus all my senses on my surroundings. I always feel as if I become one with all of it.”

  Jensen smiled and closed his eyes as he described everything, happiness and peace filling him, but then he remembered how much he missed the garden and the happiness was replaced with sadness and loss. He opened his eyes, tears forming again, and looked to Logan. “I did love it so, but I haven’t seen the gardens since I came here.”

  Logan moved closer and slid his hands under Jensen’s legs, then scooped him up and placed him on his lap, then wrapped his arms around him as he whispered softly, “It’s okay, pretty boy. I’m so sorry you miss it. It sounds like a wonderful place.”

  “It is,” Jensen replied softly, his voice choked.

  “If you loved it so much, why did you leave? Not that I’m not happy you did, because if you hadn’t then I never would have met you, but if it was so perfect then why did you leave?”

  Jensen sniffled as he rested his head on Logan’s shoulder, accepting his comfort and enjoying it. “For a little over a year that I lived there, I had two wonderful friends. We spent every day together just exploring the gardens, playing, and enjoying everything. Helio and Briar were my best friends and I loved them so much. They were the only friends I ever had. When I was growing up in Arcadia, all the other god's children stayed away from me. The ones who were demigods stayed away from the rest of us, but the other godly children picked on me and thought I was a freak. They would tease me about having a father that was banished. But Briar and Helio were always nice to me. They never picked on me or teased me. They loved me as much as I loved them, but then one day they were just gone. I had no idea what happened to them or where they went. The only thing I had was a note that Briar had written telling me that they had been called upon to go somewhere. That their magic was needed. I knew that it was always a possibility that they may leave. They had always told me so, but when it happened, I was so heartbroken and alone. The note said that they would see me again someday, but I haven’t seen them since.”

  Jensen sniffled again as the tears ran down his face. Logan reached over to the end table and grabbed a few tissues and handed them to him. After Jensen cleaned his face, he cuddled back into Logan’s embrace.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss, mate. I wish I could change the past for you. Stop those idiots from being mean to you and bring back your friends,” Logan said as he ran his hand soothingly down the back of Jensen’s head over and over, like he was petting him.

  “Thank you, Logan.”

  “So, when did you come here then?”

  Jensen sniffled again. “After Helio and Briar left, I couldn’t find too much happiness in Saturnalia anymore. Those last ten months there without them were so long and lonely. Then one day, my mother came and told me that I would be needed somewhere and that she was taking me to an earthbound town where I needed to stay and wait until the time came. She said that me and my powers would be needed here someday and that I would know when the time came. She insisted that I never leave Maddox because this is where it would happen.”

  “What would happen?” Logan asked.

  “I don’t know. All she said was that I was to stay in Maddox, that it was imperative, and that I would know it when the time came. Then she dropped me here.”

  “So she just left you here with nothing and no one when you were what, seventeen?” Logan asked angrily.

  “I was eighteen when she brought me here and I have been here for three years.”

  “And Fate never came back to check on you to make sure you were okay?”

  “It’s not as easy as people think for gods to come to earth. Especially gods like my mother. Zeus, the high god, can come here freely, but after the history of this planet and its inhabitants, the gods don’t really come here anymore, and Zeus said they were safer. With the way the humans hurt one another and hate so easily, as well as there being so many non-believers of them, and in this time people would lock you up and throw away the key if you said you talked to a god or saw a god, Zeus put a limit on visits.”

  “Well, I can kind of see his point, but still, I would think that your own mother would check on you from time to time.”

  “Time runs differently here than it does in Arcadia. I’m not mad at my mother, and I know she would be here if she could. And besides, I know that she knows what she is doing. I am a siphon of power, and as much as I loved the garden, there wasn’t enough power there to feed me, especially when Helio and Briar left. But here in Maddox, a lot of paranormals began showing up here three years ago. That’s one of the reasons Mom brought me here. With them, I could just walk past them and take a little of their power without them even knowing. Just little sips that wouldn’t affect them, but would be enough to keep going. Then when one of those big battles comes, it’s like a feast to me and I get full for a week. Not that I like these battles they have because the humans, as well as my new friends like Nick, Zen, and Jagger, could get hurt, but at the same time, the power that it feeds me is amazing. So part of me believes she brought me to Maddox to save me, as well as whatever is going to happen here that she believes I need to be here for.”

  “Then why not accept help from Nick, Jagger, Dain, or Rhys? I know they have all offered to help you, as well as King Destrain himself.”

  Jensen was suddenly filled with guilt and turned his face down lower. Logan wouldn’t have that though and gently nudged his face back up until their eyes met. “Because just walking past someone in the street, I can take some of their power. I usually rush past so it’s not too much, but I am afraid that if I spend any extended period of time with any of them, even more than ten minutes, that I will drain them, knocking them out too, like I did back in Arcadia, and today with Sutton. For whatever reason, I need to be here and I can’t afford for anyone to chase me out of town because they think I am a threat to them. I also really like it here and I like all my new friends that I have made like Dain and Rhys, Nick and Jagger, and I don’t want to lose them, and be alone again,” Jensen replied and lowered his chin, looking down again.

  CHAPTER 9

  Logan could see the pain, hurt, and fear in his mate’s eyes and neither he nor his animal liked it one bit. “You said that when the big battles have taken place, you feed on the magic afterwards and then don’t have to replenish for a week. So, does that mean that if you have enough magic in your system, you don’t need or accidentally take any from anyone around town?”

  Shaking his head, Jensen replied, “No, I don’t even have an urge to do so.”

  Smiling, Logan stood up. “Help me move the couch and stuff back.”

  Jensen looked confused, but in a few short minutes, the furnishings were moved, leaving nothing in the center of the living area.

  “Why did you want―”

  Logan placed a finger over his mate’s lips, stopping him from saying anything else. Leaning in, he whispered, “Just watch.” Logan kissed his mate and stepped back, undressing.

  Jensen’s eyes widened, but his gaze never once left Logan.

  Logan’s hard shaft slapped against his abdomen and Jensen licked his lips, making Logan groan. “Pretty boy, I am really trying to show you something and if you keep looking at me like that, I will be showing you something altogether different.”

  Jensen turned an adorable shade of pink. “Sorry, but you look amazing.”

  Wiggling his brows, Logan replied, “Never apologize for enjoying my body, pretty boy. I love that you like what you see and I can’t wait to have whatever you’re imagining come to fruition. However, we don’t have much time and I think I know another reason why your mother knew we would be so good together.”

  Logan stepped back and finished undressing, then shifted.

  Hearing Jensen’s gasp and then squeal had Logan prancing closer to his mate in pride.

  “You’re a…By the Gods, you’re…Can I touch you?” Jensen asked in awe.

  Logan let out a whinny, shaking his head up and down, tossing his rainbow-colored mane.

  Slowly, Jensen approached Logan and ran his hand along his sides, through his mane, then even slower Jensen ran his hand towards Logan’s head, gently gripping his horn, whispering, “A unicorn. I can’t believe you are a unicorn.”

  Logan shivered as his mate touched him. His horn was especially sensitive, almost an erogenous zone. Magic dust started sparkling from his horn and Jensen let out a moan, rasping, “So pure. Your magic is so pure.”

  Logan could feel his magic seeping out of his body and Logan was amazed at how quickly the pressure he normally felt lifted. Damn, he couldn’t remember feeling so good before.

  Jensen gasped and jerked back. “Oh Gods! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I’m so sorry.”

  Hearing Jensen’s distress, Logan quickly shifted back and rushed to his mate. Jensen was sitting on the couch, with his knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them, and his head on his knees, crying. “Hey, what’s wrong, pretty boy? Please don’t cry.”

  “I didn’t mean to. It’s been a while since I really fed and then I felt your magic surrounding me. I thought that because of earlier I could control it, but I guess from the injuries and what happened at the fire, I was hungrier than I thought. I’m so sorry,” Jensen cried.

  Logan put his arm around his mate the best he could, with the position the man was in. “Jensen, listen to me, I’m not upset, you did nothing I didn’t expect you to do. As a matter of fact, what you took from me made me feel better than I have in more years than I can remember.”

  Jensen slowly lifted his head, asking, “If you’re not mad, then why are you calling me by my name? I thought you said you would always call me by the other.”

  Sighing, Logan pulled Jensen’s legs down, and turned his mate’s head so they were looking at each other, eye to eye. “I’m not mad, and I called you by your name so you would hopefully look up and talk to me. As you can see, it worked.”

  Jensen sniffled, then wiped his eyes. “I don’t like drawing on magic that hasn’t been offered to me, Logan. It feels wrong.”

  Nodding, Logan replied, “We do what we must to survive. I knew what would happen when I shifted.”

  Jensen gasped, “You shouldn’t have done it then, Logan, or at the very least, you should have talked to me about it first. I could have hurt you and I would never want to do that.”

  Shaking his head, Logan replied, “You’re right, I should have and I’m sorry. I guess it didn’t cross my mind because you could never hurt me. As you already said, my magic is the purest you will ever find. A unicorn is complete magic. So much so, the build-up can be very painful. I already showed this to you in the ambulance. What I gave you there is like a grain of sand on the beach. What you took now―Gods, for the first time in I can’t remember when, the pain is gone. That’s what I meant when I said your mother knew what she was doing when she blessed us to be mates. You need magic and I have too much. I have a feeling that I am a healer, and you being the son of one, also has something to do with why we would be so perfect together. Although, I must admit I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

  “So, we mate because we need each other? That doesn’t seem right to me, Logan. I don’t want to mate with someone because of my curse. I want to share my life with the person that wants me for who I am, not what I can do for them,” Jensen said, standing up.

  Logan stood up, quickly. “First, you are not cursed, and second, that’s not what I meant. I was just pointing out that we have mutual needs that we can help each other with if or when we do mate.”

  “I think I should go to bed. I’m tired and it’s getting late. I’m guessing that Nick will be here pretty early,” Jensen quietly replied.

  Logan could feel his mate slipping from him, and he was at a loss on what to do. Sitting down on the couch, Logan hung his head, running his fingers through his hair, then looked up at his mate, rasping, “I only meant that your mom could see that we were more than meant to be together. I would hope that she chose us for more than just our need to release and feed off of magic. I know I wanted you before I even knew who you were. I won’t say I love you, Jensen, but with your caring and loving heart you have for others, I have a feeling it won’t take me long to get there. I just want the opportunity to see where this leads to.”

  Logan felt tears filling his eyes, as he rasped, “Maybe this is my real punishment for what happened all those years ago. To find my mate and lose him all in the same day, just as fast as Anne lost her life because of my actions.”

  Logan felt his mate sitting next to him and the light touch to his shoulders. “Logan, you did nothing wrong to be punished for. You followed a superior’s orders. Sometimes that isn’t easy to do, but it is the way things are. Just like when Zeus ordered me from my home. I didn’t want to go, it hurt leaving my mom behind like that, but he ordered me banished so there was no choice left to me or my mother. The question is are we chosen as mates because Mom was trying to help her child, or does she really believe that we are meant to be together? I don’t want you being taken advantage of.”

  “I don’t feel that way, pretty boy. I just want to be with you and see where this relationship takes us. I don’t know about you, but I want it to go all the way.”

  “I want to see where this relationship goes too, I just don’t want to hurt you in the process.”

  Logan turned his head, looking at Jensen. “You will not hurt me, Jensen. I have more than enough magic for you to feed on and I willingly give that to you, but I also want to get to know you for who you are. Nothing else matters to me.”

  “Pretty boy,” Jensen whispered with a smile.

  Logan smiled back, softly repeating, “Pretty boy.”

  Jensen sat back and Logan could see the worry etched on the man’s face, when he said, “Logan, let’s say we do mate, what are we going to do if Nick and the council demand I leave?”

  “Then we will find another place to call home. But I don’t believe that will happen. Nick, Destrain, Illan, and the others are fair and good men,” Logan replied in earnest.

  Both men sat there saying nothing for a few moments, then Jensen asked, “Is there a way you—I mean I like what I see—Not that I’m staring or anything, but…okay, I can’t help but stare, but―”

  Logan laughed, stood up, and grabbed his clothes, saying, “Sorry, pretty boy. Shifters are so used to getting naked around each other to shift all the time, that nudity isn’t something we think about.”

  “Well, it better be something you think about from now on. I don’t want others to be able to look at your bits and pieces. That’s for my eyes only, dang it.”

  Logan raised a brow at the uncharacteristic anger coming from his mate. It actually had Logan’s cock twitching in his pants, hearing the possessive tone and words coming from Jensen’s lips. His unicorn was strutting and prancing with joy within him. “I give you my word, the only one to get a peek of my bits and pieces will be you from this day forward.”