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She came in and took over our lives without even trying, wiggled her way into our hearts even when we thought we had a damn good hold on them. She was so good at it that it took me years to see it, but now that I have…
She’s all I see.
Damn, I need to get out of here so I can see her. The only problem with that is I’m not sure I can keep my cool long enough to do that. Something about seeing her lying on the forest floor alone fucked me up. I can see it every time I close my eyes, and from what the queen was saying before I got knocked out, it was just a waiting game until she woke up.
Surely, if she’d woken up, one of the guys would have come and got me, right?
Fuck, I hope so. I’d hate to think I’d messed things up badly enough to warrant them leaving me down here for any longer than necessary.
Thankfully, the guys don’t seem mad enough with me to starve me while I’m down here. A guard brings me food and water every few hours, and there’s a bathroom at the end of the hall. According to one of them, thanks to the king, this whole floor has a magical barrier of sorts. It blocks not only elemental abilities but also our beasts. I didn’t get to meet him before I got brought down here, but he sounds powerful. I guess that makes sense, though, considering he’s the king.
I’m still annoyed as fuck that Garrett’s a prince. As if his being a dragon wasn’t enough. How the hell do we compete with that?
The sound of the main door opening pulls my attention from the ceiling to the cell door behind me. I don’t bother getting up, simply tilting my head to look at whoever it might be. Upside-down makes things more entertaining.
“Watch your step,” someone says, their voice so low I almost miss it.
Strange, that doesn’t sound like the usual guard. Come to think of it, I don’t think it’s time for a meal yet, either. I can’t see outside and don’t have a watch, but usually, I’m at least kind of hungry by the time they come down. Right now, I’m still pretty full from the last one.
I strain my ears but don’t hear anything else said. Without my beast, I’m on my own for hearing, and apparently, my ears aren’t so great.
As the mystery person gets closer, I’m almost positive I hear more than one set of feet.
Serena must have woken up, and the guys came down to get me. The thought of seeing her has me springing up off the floor. I whip around so fast that I almost fall back down, the rush of blood in my head throwing me off.
Fuck, how could someone ever live without a beast? The idea of being like this all the time is enough to make me long for my own.
Gripping the bars on the cell door, I steady myself and come face to face with…
“Rena.” I have so much I want to say, but the words get caught in my throat seeing her here, awake and seemingly unharmed. She beams at me as her fingers wrap around mine, where they still clutch the bars. It only lasts a moment before she pulls away, and I miss the feel of her like a physical ache in my chest. I’m about two seconds from reaching for her when she steps back, seemingly producing a key from thin air, and slides it into the lock on the door. The sound of the key sliding into place is almost deafening as it rings out.
I’m moving before she gets it all the way open, scooping her into my arms and pulling her close. She doesn’t fight me; instead, she wraps her smaller arms around me just as fiercely, burying her face into my chest. I press my face to the top of her head, breathing her in and peppering her with kisses, but it’s not enough.
Having her here is more than I dared wish for, but now that she is, I need more. I trail my lips from the top of her head down her temple to her cheek, kissing her wherever I can reach. She giggles, and the sound echoes off the walls of the otherwise empty dungeon. My heart races, and while I’ve never been one for PDA, girlfriends, or anything more than the occasional fling—not including Pike, somehow he remained a constant regardless of how often I say it will be the last time—right now everything is Serena.
She’d been slowly consuming my every thought, even before I accidentally started the mate bond with her, before Garrett. Fuck, I hate how long I’d thought about her and never done anything about it. All because I’d thought she wouldn’t want more, that I would be risking ruining years of friendship over what I’d thought was a fleeting attraction built up after years of being around each other.
Stupid.
As much as I enjoy the feel of her in my arms and want her closer, I force myself to step back, holding her at arm’s length as I look her over with no bars between us. Last I saw her, she was unconscious on that bed. She looked–
I can’t make myself think the word. The image of her lying there already haunts me enough as it is, but she’s here now.
With my hands on her shoulders, I force her to spin so that I can get a good look at her, checking for injuries, a scrape, bruise, lump, or bump. Anything that might suggest she’s not one hundred percent okay.
Her hair’s thrown up in a messy bun, loose strands tickling my arm as I spin her. She wears nothing but a shirt; though it’s big enough on her, it’s more like a dress or a nightgown, reaching down to just above her knees. Her feet are bare, and her arms are mostly exposed, but even with so much of her on display, I can’t find anything wrong or out of the ordinary.
I’m half tempted to pull the shirt off, but she stops me before I can decide if that’s going too far. Stepping forward, she presses a hand to my chest, looking up at me with a smile.
“I’m fine,” she says, her words soft, hardly more than a whisper.
I want to believe her, but I guess I’m a hard-headed asshole even without my beast because I can’t stop.
I take her face in my hands, turning her head left and right. “Why are you down here?” I ask, my voice stern and almost cold. As much as I might enjoy having her here with me, I’m not sure she should be out of bed. “How did you get down here? Why didn’t the others just come get me?”
“The others are asleep. They wanted to wait until morning to see how everything was….” she trails off, and I wait, knowing there’s more. “They’re worried about how you’ll be and don’t want to overwhelm me.” She rolls her eyes, and I can see exactly what she thinks of that. Seeing her worked up like this on my behalf has a smile tugging at my lips. “But I couldn’t sleep, not knowing you were alone down here. It’s not right. You don’t deserve to be locked up!” she tells me, her brows knitting together in annoyance.
“Sol?” I ask, somehow knowing without her telling me that my brother is the one who brought her to me. He’s always been her partner in crime, and he can’t tell her no for shit. She nods, her eyes darting back the way she came, and while I can’t see him, I know he’s there. He wouldn’t leave her down here alone.
