Chapter 4
Cecily
Present
Ican hear the guys talking while I’m sleeping, but I never quite wake up enough to hear what they’re discussing. I’m comfortable with my head resting on a chest and warmth wrapped around me in the form of strong arms. This isn’t the position I fell asleep in, but it’s just as comfortable, maybe even more so since I’m more curled up.
While I was in my soul form, I never slept. I was in a constant state of awareness. It’s amazing how much you don’t recognize yourself when you’re exhausted. A little rest can go a long way to making someone feel like themselves again. While I got some sleep, I’m still experiencing a drained sensation. After a quick check-in with my magic, I’m pretty sure my exhaustion has to do with my stores being low.
My body is working overtime, expelling magic just as quickly as I soak it up, and there are no hints to what I could be using it on. I’m assuming my magic instinctively knows what it needs to do right now, but a little heads-up would be nice.
One thing I do know, the moment I touched Derrick after being placed back in my body, the strain of being drained diminished. His touch is a soothing balm, letting in a slow trickle of magic, taking off the burden of being so drained. I know mates are supposed to be able to transfer magic between each other when one is low, but I didn’t know it could happen with anyone. I guess it’s possible my position as future Queen means it’s different for me. Or maybe it’s because my actual mate is close by? Yep, this is the reason I’m going with. And if that’s the case, I need as much contact as possible to get back to functioning levels.
They’re still talking when I finally wake up. I hear Marcellus’ voice, but it sounds like he’s on the phone. “Yes sir. We’ll get on it right away. Make sure you send Alex all the info you mentioned. I’ll give you a report when we have some idea what’s going on.”
“Well, that’s some lucky timing,” the voice comes from right above my head, and vibrates through the chest I’m lying on. The only problem is, it’s not Derrick’s voice like I expect. I’m confident I fell asleep in Derrick’s arms. I finally blink my eyes open and pull back from my comfortable position to see that Klaus has his arms draped around me. He peers down and says, “Hey there, Sunshine. Feel more rested?”
I nod my head and when he smiles at me, my stomach flutters with giddiness. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him, including the time I spent observing them in my soul form from the moment they found me in the bunker. Without any reason, shyness overcomes me and I can’t hold eye contact, quickly gazing down at my lap. I’m distracted when a hand leaves my back, and it feels like a connection is cut off, causing me to pout and glance behind me. Derrick is sitting there, and he laughs when he sees my lip sticking out. “Turn around, Precious, and I’ll hold your hand.”
I swear it feels like Derrick and Klaus have a good idea of what my emotions are, and the thoughts that go along with them. It’s a little unsettling for two strangers to come across as knowing me so well. I debate what I want to do. Does it make me appear weak if I stay in my cocoon of warmth these two guys are giving me? Do I even care?
I just realized I’m able to draw magic from them that my body is desperately needing right now. My only other option is to find a fairy pool, and I highly doubt they’re going to let me walk out the front door to find one right now. So touch is my only option, and that is absolutely the only reason why I want to hold on to them.
The exhaustion that comes along with being so drained is wearing me down and it’s imperative I get back to feeling like myself again. Especially if I want to protect myself from the backstabbing mate of mine. With the thought of Marcellus, I glance in his direction, making note that he’s as far as possible from me. Good.
Trying to save face and not appear needy, I try to sit between the two of them but neither moves to make space for me. Instead, I end up sitting on them both, and I let out a huff crossing my arms. They both smirk, and Derrick takes pity on me, pulling me onto his lap again while Klaus lifts my feet onto his.
Now this is more like it! A larger surge of magic rushes into me with the increased skin-to-skin contact that I’m now getting from them both. The moment I get topped up, I can stop annoying myself with this damsel “Ooo take care of me, I’m helpless” vibe I’m giving off. It’s pathetic.
“So what are the details we need to know from your call? You could’ve put it on speaker, you know,” Alex quips from his spot across the room. He shoots us a longing gaze before focusing his attention on Marcellus, who looks like he’s trying not to glance at us.
Instead of answering the question, Marcellus says, “We can discuss it in a moment. First, I think we should actually introduce ourselves to our guest.” Oh... well, that’s nice. I mean, I know who they are, but they don’t know that. So, introductions make sense, and I won’t seem like a weirdo for already knowing their names.
Every set of eyes in the room land on me like a heavy weight. What a change it is to go from spending so long with no one seeing me to suddenly being the center of attention constantly. I don’t know what they expect from me right now, so I stick with my standard nod, letting him know I agree with what he’s saying.
I get the distinct impression they were all hoping I’d be more willing to talk now, probably assuming I’d be in a better mood after taking a nap.We don’t always get what we want in life, boys.They exchange glances again, as if I wouldn’t notice, and their gazes are full of disappointment paired with concern.
Marcellus takes the lead again, after clearing his throat. “Sitting with you is Derrick, and next to him is Klaus.” With the mention of their names, Derrick gives me a squeeze with his arms, and Klaus tightens his hold on my foot before rubbing it with both hands. “Over there is Alex,” Marcellus points in his direction, and Alex perks up in his seat as soon as I glance at him.
“My name is Marcus…” He takes in a deep breath, like he isn’t quite sure what to say next. Then he takes a few hesitant steps toward us, like you would when approaching an injured animal, and kneels on the ground in front of me so he’s more on my level instead of towering over me as he speaks, “I’m really sorry if I scared you right after you woke up. I’ll do my best not to do that again.” His voice is thick as if he’s holding back some kind of emotion that I don’t care to decipher. I really need to figure out how he doesn’t know who I am. Not knowing if this is an act or not is driving me crazy.
“Would you share your name with us? We’ve been calling you Princess, but it would be nice to call you by your real name.” He gives me a dazzling smile that he tops off with a wink. My mind goes to the last time I saw him wink, the same day he betrayed me. This time, his power to make me melt doesn’t work.
At the thought, I cringe and lay my head on Derrick’s chest, seeking comfort. Both him and Klaus tighten their hold on me, letting me know they’re here for me, and I feel a little better. I shake my head, trying to say I won’t share my name. He nods in response and carries on with the one-sided conversation.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions about how you ended up with us. We’ll be happy to answer any that you might have, but the short version is that we stumbled upon a bunker in a park that was basically in the middle of nowhere. The bunker was equipped as a scientific lab and Alex found you down there as a subject they’ve been studying. None of us could leave you there, so we took you away to protect you from whatever nefarious plans they had for you.
“They sent some mercenaries after you a few times before we found the tracking device they planted on you. Since then, it seems like they’ve been unable to find you and we want to keep it that way.” His description of what happened is fired off in an almost uncaring way, more like a report given to a superior officer in the military. After a pause, his tone completely changes. “No matter what, our goals are to protect you.” Concern shines from his glassy blue eyes, and for a second, I forget about what he did to me and almost give him a hug.
My emotions are so conflicted right now. I’m forced to look away from his eyes—that has to be the cause of my heart forgetting how he slid a knife across my throat. I know the details surrounding my rescue, but they don’t know that. I appreciate him wanting to make sure I’m aware of what happened though. His concern is clearly directed toward making sure I’m okay after waking up to find them all around me.
The urge to say something is there, but the thought of speaking suddenly has me feeling like a huge weight is on my chest. I need to work past the emotions holding me hostage. I manage to squeeze out a few words in a whispered voice, although I’m sure they all heard, “Thank you. I’m certain you saved my life.”
Risking another glance at Marcus, I see my words had an effect on him, as minimal as they were. It’ll probably take some time to get used to him wanting to be called Marcus, but the shortening of his name makes sense. Marcellus isn’t as popular of a name these days like it used to be. He makes a movement toward me but catches himself a moment later, and stands to go back to his seat across the room instead.
Once he’s sitting, he lets out a sigh as his body relaxes back. Maybe having that conversation took a lot out of him. If he truly doesn’t remember me, then I’m sure my reaction to him was hurtful. If I can still feel our bond, then I’m sure he can, too. Good, he deserves to experience every bit of the devastation I’ve felt over his betrayal.Don’t let him fool you again, Cecily.
“Silas called with a report of a wolf who has lost the ability to shift back to their human form. His pack reported it a few weeks ago, but everything was fine until a couple of days ago. He’s going feral already, with not being able to switch back.” Wait... What did he just say? Why is a shifter suddenly unable to shift back, and they’re discussing it like this is a normal occurrence?
