The Broken Angel & Her Overprotective Brothers

Kaiden stared at Shadow who remained sitting there silently as he gazed at the moon that was now overshadowed by the clouds that were floating in the sky.

The light breeze rustled the leaves of the tall trees and helped in reducing the heat in the air.

"Why are you not saying anything? Are you really going to give up? Even though I'm not really happy about this situation, I have already mentioned that I'm not against you staying..."

"I don't have much time left, Kaiden." Shadow suddenly spoke in a calm tone but his words made Kaiden trail off before he could finish what he was about to say.

The next few seconds were filled with silence as Kaiden stared at Shadow with his jaw hanging open. He was suddenly finding it hard to wrap his mind around what his ears were hearing.

"What? What are you talking about? What do you mean by not having much time left? Are you going somewhere? Are you returning to the Night City? Is Emily aware of this?" He fired the questions back to back.

Shadow smiled softly as he turned his eyes away from the hidden moon and focused them on Kaiden. "Just like I said, I don't have much time left... in this world. So, it doesn't matter if I can find a way to make my bond work with both of you. I will need to leave soon."

Kaiden licked his lips as he stared at Shadow, waiting for the man to stop his sick jokes. But looking at his expressions, it didn't seem like he was just kidding. "You... You are serious...!"

Shadow almost chuckled at Kaiden's surprised look and his words. "Have you ever seen me joking around?" He questioned the man who was still looking at him with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Shadow... are you... are you going to die? How? When? Why? I mean... what happened? Aren't you supposed to be the True Immortal like everyone says? You... Is something going on that you aren't telling us about?" Kaiden could hardly remain calm at this point.

His brain was a mess as he couldn't make sense of exactly what was going on with Shadow and why the man was suddenly talking about leaving... leaving as if he was about to die. Even his wolf seemed a little restless.

"Calm down, Kaiden. It's not like I'm going to disappear right after this night. Some things in my life are way too complicated to be explained and I don't have enough time left in my hands to sort things out in my life. That's why I would rather spend my remaining time with Princess and look after both of you, instead of staying in the Night City, waiting for my doom." Shadow told the other man in a casual tone that was definitely not right considering the topic they were discussing.

Kaiden remained silent as he sat there staring at Shadow. The way that man was discussing his death so casually made his heart hurt. Without giving much thought to it, he once again wrapped his arms around the man and pulled him into a tight hug.

Once again Shadow found himself at a complete loss. It took him a couple of seconds before he too wrapped his arms around the young man and started patting his back softly. For some reason, it felt like instead of giving him comfort, Kaiden was actually seeking comfort from him.

"I'll say it once again, I don't mind you staying with me and Emily, as long as you won't hurt her. I'm not sure if your decision about not telling her the truth about our bonds is right or wrong, but I won't interfere for the time being, just in case you will change your mind in near future."

"She loves you, Shadow. Maybe not like how she loves me but she definitely loves you more than just a friend, and most importantly, she really needs you in her life." Kaiden spoke as he kept his arms tightly wrapped around the man who remained silent.

Pulling away from the hug, he looked straight into Shadow's amber eyes as he asked, "How... How long...?" Since he couldn't make himself say the words, he ended up stopping before asking what he wanted to ask.

However, it seemed like Shadow understood the unfinished question because, after a little sigh, he answered, "Maybe a year or two... I'm not really sure, to be honest. It can even be less than that."

The two of them remained silent after that for a couple of minutes, both lost in their own worlds of thoughts. Then Shadow finally decided to break the silence, "Kaiden, you don't have to feel either guilty or grateful towards me. Whatever is happening to me has nothing to do with others. I'm just paying the price for my past actions. You aren't obliged to..."

"Are you really that stupid? Do you seriously think that I'm doing this because I'm feeling guilty or grateful? Are you really that blind to not see it?" Kaiden was feeling fully irritated by this point. Talking to Shadow felt like banging his head against a wall.

Shaking his head to brush off some of his irritation, he stood up and turned away to look at the vast and dark valley down the cliff. 

Shadow followed his suit and stood up too as he asked with a confused look on his face, "What am I not seeing? What are you talking about Kaiden?"

Kaiden remained silent for a few seconds as he tried to calm himself down a little bit before he finally turned to look at the man and glared at him for a few moments and only then did he finally decide to answer. "Shadow, we both are sharing the same soulmate bond with Emily.. The exact soulbond that binds you with her is wrapped around my heart and soul. Don't you know what it means to share the same essence of a soulmate bond?"