Haven 5: Invincible Read Online Free

times since he’d left Aslan in Haven, Torren had traveled outside of his body, using his power of etheric projection to visit his mate’s room and watch him sleep. With each new visit, Aslan looked more tired and drained than the last.
    When Torren had checked on him three days ago, the little man had been sleeping fitfully, muttering under his breath as he thrashed around on the mattress. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent, even in the dim light of the room, and he looked thinner than when Torren had seen him in person. Seeing his mate like that caused a deep, painful ache in his heart, but there had been nothing he could do to soothe Aslan’s distress.
    Things had been hectic since that night, and he hadn’t been able to return. Still, Aslan was never far from his thoughts, and Torren knew he’d be making another trip once everyone was asleep.
    His brothers weren’t impressed, though. “You’re an idiot,” Lynk said with disgust, shaking his head while his eyes rolled in exaggeration. “Just go bond with him, already. He’ll be safer, you’ll be less distracted, and everyone will be a hell of a lot happier.” The mating bond between a witch and his or her consort was eternal. They would be twined together in every way possible—heart, mind, spirit, and lifeline. As long as one heart continued to beat, the other couldn’t die. It was one of the strongest, purest bits of magic in the world, but it still had its limits.
    “Bonding with him isn’t guaranteed to keep him alive,” Torren responded flatly. Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, and a slew of other injuries could be overcome with their mating. Things like decapitation or having their hearts removed from their bodies—there was no coming back from that.
    “Damn, you’re a stubborn asshole.” Raith slouched back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, looking more stubborn than Torren was sure he ever had. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other, but I can still read you like a book. You’re completely fucking miserable, and you have no one to blame but yourself.”
    “I have a stressful job. That doesn’t mean I’m miserable or that it has anything to do with Aslan.” Maybe keeping his distance wasn’t the most honorable thing to do, but it was with good intentions.
    Unless they could sort out the problems amongst the different communities and restore some kind of balance within their world, they were headed for war.
    “Oh, forget it. Tor doesn’t do emotional attachment.” Lynk yawned hugely before rising to his feet. “I’m going to bed. Good luck taking over the world.”
    Torren didn’t think that was fair at all. He was trying to save their world—not rule it. It was no secret that he was somewhat emotionally stunted when it came to personal relationships and expressing his feelings, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t have feelings.
    He still stood by his claims that at some point everyone he allowed close to him would invariably let him down. While he cared deeply for his brothers, he had to include them in his statement.
    Most likely they wouldn’t mean to fail him, but given the selfishness of human nature—and paranormals were not excluded from this nature—it was very much every man for himself. When given the choice, survival instincts took over, and people would without question choose themselves and their needs above others.
    Raith pushed to his feet as well and shook his head, a sad look playing over his face. “It’s okay to trust people, Torren. Not everyone is going to hurt you.”
    Torren didn’t refute the man’s words as he watched him walk out of the room, but he knew different. And he knew it all too well.

    * * * *

    “You came back.” His eyes were still closed, but it was as if he could feel the presence of someone else in his room. He’d felt it at least twice before, but when he’d finally crawled out of the haze of sleep, he’d always been alone.
    “You look