Ascension Saga (Interstellar Brides): Book 5

I put my hand on his and whispered, “Thank you.”

God, he really was adorable and he also knew his mate’s unhappiness. I wasn’t sure if he were trying to smooth things over with me, or with her. I knew where Thor’s charm came from. And it definitely was not his mother.

She set a plate in front of Thor as well and went back to the sidebar to serve herself. By the time she sat down with her own plate before her, Lord Jax had emptied my plate, and both her mate and her son only had one piece left.

Her smile was brilliant. “I see my boys were hungry.” She glanced at my plate as well, eyes rounding when she saw that my plate, too, was bare. “And you, Faith. Did you like the dish? It’s a family tradition. I made them to honor you and Thor and your mating.”

I smiled. She was trying. That was something. “Thank you. They were delicious.”

Preening, she looked down at her plate and I glanced at my future father-in-law, who winked at me with a grin. We were both happy. He got a double serving, and I didn’t have to eat a single bite. And Lady Jax was pleased.

When the plates were cleared, Thor’s father rose and lifted his glass. “To you, Faith. I have never seen my son so happy. Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you.” I lifted my glass and managed to swallow a bit of the wine. Sometimes, a girl had to do what a girl had to do. A sip of the bitter wine was better than any of the meat. “I am happy as well.”

“We all are, dear,” Thor’s mother added. I doubted her words were sincere, but I wasn’t going to call her on it. I’d take the words for now.

Thor’s hand was back on my thigh and I leaned into his side. Happy. Content.

Thor’s father swayed, as if he’d had two bottles of wine, not two glasses.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

Lady Jax looked up from the table, where she’d been staring at her wine glass, rotating the base on the table, around, and around, and around. Thinking. “My lord?”

“Fine. Fine. I’m—“ He toppled, falling hard to the floor. The Zebcat closest to him hissed in alarm as his master nearly fell on top of him.

“Father!” Thor jumped from his seat as Lady Jax fell from hers, landing on her knees next to her mate.

“My love!” She shook her mate as Thor settled on the opposite side of his father’s unconscious body. I loomed over them, not sure what to do. Lord Jax was flushed, sweating. Unmoving. Ten seconds ago he’d been fine and now…

The lead servant stuck his head into the room, probably hearing the loud thud of Lord Jax falling. Thor yelled at him, “Summon the healers, now! And get me a ReGen wand.”

“At once, my lord.” The door closed behind the servant and we were alone in the room, the elder Lord Jax’s labored breathing a garbled sound I’d never heard before, as if his lungs were full of fluid.

“Father?” Thor rolled his father onto his back and the old man’s eyes were glazed over, like glass. Staring, unseeing, at the ceiling. “Father?”

“My love?” Lady Jax screamed, shaking his shoulder. “What have you done? What have you done?”

Shit. I had no idea what to do. All I could do was watch.

Until Lady Jax stood and pointed at me. “You. You did this!”

I stared at her wide-eyed. Me?

“Did what?” I took a step back as she moved forward, all kinds of crazy on her face. Veins popped out at her temples, her gaze narrow and the fiercest I’d ever seen. She glanced at the table, grabbed her husband’s knife and waved it at me. Was she planning on stabbing me? With her mate dying on the floor?

“You! You poisoned him!”

“What?” Holy shit. I put a chair between us and kept backing up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t. I would never—“

“Enough, Mother!” Thor said, putting his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Stop this. Get the ReGen wand!”

She took a step around the end of the table and looked down at my empty plate, then back up at me, her gaze no longer lucid. “You poisoned him.”

I moved further away, putting two chairs between us. I didn’t want to go kung fu on Thor’s mom, but this was getting real. Fast.

Poisoned? As if.