Page 48

“I can hold it,” I grunt through clenched teeth.

Lucien snorted. “You say that.”

Roman raised a hand. “We test it.” I growled, but didn’t move. Roman stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You see her, but then you come back with us. We will go so you can deal with the shooter. In that order.”

My jaw tightened. “If he breathes…”

“He won’t,” Roman said flatly. “After we know who sent him, he won’t for long.”

Silence stretched, I don’t know if it was a few minutes or a few hours, but finally Roman nodded once. “Go.”

Lucien and Volken flanked me immediately as I moved, close enough that I could feel them on either side, a living cage walking me down the hall. Draugr followed behind, silent, watchful. They stayed close because they knew the truth. If I slipped, If the berserker broke free again, they would have to stop me or die trying.

The door to the room opened when we reached it, and everything inside me nearly shattered. Bryn lay on the bed, too still, skin pale against white sheets, hair spread around her face. Her arm was bandaged, thick white gauze already tinged red beneath the layers. The sight punched the breath from my lungs.

The berserker surged, roaring in triumph and agony. Hurt. Mate hurt…Kill. My hands curled into fists, claws threatening to break free. I took one step forward, my vision starting to funnel.

“Viking.” Her voice. Soft, weak, but alive. The world collapsed down to a single point as I froze. Her eyes were open, unfocused but searching. They found me instantly, like they always did, like the bond pulled her straight to me.

“Hey,” she whispered. “You’re… loud.” Only now realizing that I had roared in rage when I saw her pale form on the bed. The sound that left my chest wasn’t a roar this time, it was a breath. Everything else vanished. The blood, the shooter, my rage, even my brothers behind me. Only Bryn existed.

I crossed the room in three strides and dropped to my knees beside the bed, hands shaking as I reached for her. The moment my fingers brushed her skin, something inside me clicked back into place. Control surged in, fierce and sudden. Bryn was alive, warm, breathing. I bowed my head, pressing my forehead to the mattress near her hip, eyes burning. Relief hit me so hard it hurt. “I’m here,” I said hoarsely. “I’m right here.”

Her fingers trembled as they reached for me, finding my hand. The contact steadied me further, anchoring the berserker deep where it couldn’t tear free. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered. The fear in her voice sliced deeper than any blade.

I lifted my head and leaned in, brushing my lips over hers in the gentlest kiss I’d ever given anyone. Careful, reverent, like she might break if I breathed wrong.

“I’m not leaving,” I promised. “Not now. Not ever.”

Her grip tightened weakly around my fingers. “It was… so fast. I thought…”

“I know,” I murmured, brushing my thumb along her cheek. “I know, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better.”

Her fear bled through the bond, raw and sharp, and it reignited the fire in my veins. The image of her falling replayed behind my eyes. The sound she’d made. The blood. I wanted to tear the shooter apart piece by piece. To make sure he understood exactly what he’d done before the end came.

The berserker snarled its approval. I forced it down, not here, not with her watching and not with her already afraid. I leaned closer, lowering my voice, steady and calm even as hell burned behind my ribs. “You’re safe now. He can’t hurt you again.”

Her lashes fluttered. “Promise?”

The word cracked something in me. “I swear it,” I said. “On everything I am, that I will never underestimate a situation again.” Her breathing evened slightly. She shifted, wincing, and my body went taut instantly.

“Easy,” I murmured, smoothing my hand over her hair. “I’ve got you.”

She relaxed again, trusting me in a way that made my chest ache. Behind me, I felt them still there. Roman. Lucien. Volken. Draugr. Watching, ready, because they could feel it too. The berserker in me hadn’t gone away. It was crouched, waiting. And the moment I left this room, the moment she was no longer in my arms, it would have a target.

I kissed her forehead softly and rested my brow there, breathing her in, letting her life anchor me one last time.

“Rest,” I whispered. “I’ll be here until you fall asleep and then I will be back soon, but Kosta and Luka will be just outside, so don’t be afraid because nothing will get to you in here.”

She nodded faintly, eyes slipping closed again, fingers still hooked in mine like she was afraid I’d disappear. I waited until her grip loosened, Then I leaned forward kissing her lips gently before I stood. Slowly, carefully I turned back toward my brothers, eyes burning cold and focused now.

“Take me to him,” I order, because someone was about to pay for daring to make her bleed.

No one spoke as we walked. Roman led the way, Draugr stayed at my shoulder. Lucien and Volken followed a pace behind. They weren't escorting me, they were containing me. The berserker still paced beneath my skin, restless, hungry, pressing against every restraint I had managed to rebuild beside Bryn's bed.

The mansion changed as we descended, the polished halls disappeared, stone replaced wood. The air cooled, steel doors came into view, concrete walls. No windows. This was the underground holding cells.

A guard nodded once as Roman approached. "The prisoner is inside."