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The icy feeling filled the air, and it was like I was being tucked under a security blanket.
My protector was here.
An unruly, grateful sob escaped me as I waited for him to tear this demon apart and redeem himself. At least a fraction.
“She. Is. Mine.” Monty’s voice had my head whipping around, but his focus wasn’t on me but our demon attacker.
“Commander, p-please. I d-d-didn’t know!” he pleaded but Monty pounced, both of them flickering out of existence with one last pained screech coming from the smaller demon.
“They’re gone,” I promised softly as I rocked the woman. She didn’t seem to mind that I was soaked, pulling me close when I tried to back away. “Does he come for you often?”
“Every night,” she whispered in an exhausted tone. “My boy. I failed him.”
That was all she got out before sleep overtook her. I settled her on her bed, covering her up and hoping I didn’t make her sick from the wet and cold. My hugs came with a price tonight.
I started to leave but the demons were raging outside, and I was afraid they’d come for her again. I had no reason to care about her, but the way she’d wanted to protect her son spoke to the broken child in me.
I couldn’t leave her now.
Closing the door, I dropped to the floor next to it, keeping silent vigil over the woman who didn’t deserve the hand she’d been dealt.
Now that my eyes were opened and I knew this wasn’t in my head, I couldn’t just leave her.
The demons were very real, I’d just witnessed their powers in action. It wasn’t an easy reality to accept, but how could I refute it now?
The woman was restless in sleep, and I went to her whenever she cried out. My presence seemed to calm her, and the more I studied her, the more familiar she seemed. Yet I couldn’t place her for the life of me. It wasn’t like I knew many people in this area, I’d run here and kept to myself when I was free.
The cries outside this room continued for hours as I shivered on the cold, stone floor. When they finally quieted and the darkness started to fade, morning light filtered in through the window.
I slipped out, knowing it was now or stay and get caught. The demons in the hall ignored me as I passed. They were fleeing in the opposite direction as if their asses were on fire.
Their reign of terror was ending for another night, the day approaching swiftly.
The stairs were less treacherous now that I was mostly dry, and I wound my way down them toward my own room.
The third-floor stairwell was right outside the nurses’ station, and I opened the door, peering through the crack as I did so, praying to whatever gods were listening that it wouldn’t alert the staff.
The night nurse was asleep at the desk, and I crept past, grateful for that one small miracle in a night full of hellish nightmares.
Though, the thought she’d been knocked out by a demon did occur to me.
My hand rested on my doorknob but I couldn’t get my fingers to cooperate in order to open it. After this night, I needed rest and safety, and there was only one person, or two rather, that could offer that.
Before I could overthink it, I slipped down the hall to Hiro’s room. I pushed it open and let out a relieved breath at the lack of a demon intruder. I knocked softly and he blinked his eyes open, confusion coloring his expression before panic took over at the sight of me covered in dirt and wearing damp clothes. Not to mention the dark circles that likely stood out on my pale face.
“Harlow, what happened?”
I shook my head and tears started to fall. There was no stopping them now that he was with me.
“Can I stay with you, Hiro?” I pleaded.
He didn’t hesitate to scramble out of bed and grab me a pair of boxers and a shirt, handing them over and closing his door. He turned his back while I slid into dry clothes. They smelled like a mixture of the two men, Roman and Hiro, both my mates. Just the scent of their mixed smoky sweetness brought a peace I wasn’t used to.
It also brought a yawn.
“It’s safe.”
He turned and held out a hand for me. I didn’t even hesitate to put mine in his and let him pull me into his bed. The sweet man didn’t demand answers from me like Drake or Monty would have, or hell, even Roman. Instead, he snuggled me closer and sang a soft, sweet song as he rubbed feeling back into my ice-cold arms. Goose bumps lined my skin, and each stroke of his warm hands had them fading.
