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“Sit down,” Bash growled. “You’re not healed enough to be up on your feet like that.”
Arden continued shuffling forward, his eyes fixed only on Gamble. Spooky moved out of the way. That determined look on his face? No one was going to be able to stop him. The others protested, but Arden ended up in front of Gamble.
Reaching out, he grabbed the witch’s jaw and yanked his head up. “Look at me.”
“No,” Gamble muttered.
“Look at me!” Arden growled, the room shaking with the force of it. “If you no longer want to be around me, then you say that. Butsayit,” Arden demanded.
Spooky reached out and laid a hand on Arden’s arm. “Arden…”
“Tell me!” Arden demanded.
Gamble finally looked up and his watery-eyed gaze met Arden’s. “I don’t deserve you,” he muttered. “When everyone else stood up for you, I doubted and judged. Doesn’t that just mean I can’t be one of your mates? That I’m worthless?”
Spooky’s chest ached. “Gamble.”
He wanted to grab the witch and hold him tightly. When he took a step forward, however, Arden held out a hand and blocked his path.
“All it means is that you have a mind of your own,” Arden said. “If I wanted a bunch of kiss asses to love me I could have had anyone from my past and been fine. But the reason I exist, the reason I am better, is because each of you challenges me in your own way. You call me out on my shit and you hold me under a microscope.” When Gamble tried to pull away, he tugged his head back and forced him to look at him. “Maybe I need that right along with the acceptance and the love. So that I don’t ever lose control again.”
Spooky stared between them, his stomach twisting into knots. The tension was so thick he could taste it. Gamble blinked at Arden, but his mouth stayed shut.
Say something. Say anything!
He clutched his shirt. It felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Spooky was so happy that Arden was awake and Gamble was alive, but he felt like he was going to be sick.
Would Gamble walk away from Arden? What would that mean for Spooky?
Spooky couldn’t stand the thought of being ripped away from the only family he’d ever given a damn about.
Arden stared at Gamble.The witch was there, but he was hiding at the same time. It was like when he formed his illusions, the way he went inside himself and disappeared. But Arden couldn’t allow that.
He gripped a fistful of Gamble’s hair.
“Shit!” Gamble hissed.
“Arden!” Spooky’s shocked squeak went in one ear and out the other. "
“So, youcantalk,” Arden said. “Good. I was starting to think you hit your head and could only speak bullshit for the rest of your life.”
Gamble growled at Arden. “Let go of me!”
“Not until you realize that my life would be empty without you,” Arden snapped, anger racing up his spine. “You aremymate. No one and nothing will ever change that. So, shut the fuck up with that talk.”
“But-”
“Shut up,” Arden snapped at him again. “I love you and that’s what matters!” He softened his tone and frowned at Gamble. “Do you love me?”
The witch met his eyes. “There’s so much about me you don’t know…”
“None of that matters,” Arden sighed. “But you’ll tell me because there won’t be any more secrets between us. Never again.” Arden swayed and Bash grabbed his arm, steadying him. But he refused to let go of Gamble. “Do you love me?”
The witch licked his lips. “Yes,” he whispered. “I didn’t think it was possible, but of course I love you.”
Arden sighed as relief flooded him. He released Gamble’s hair and plopped onto the bed as he tried to catch his breath. In truth, he hadn’t been sure how much longer he could stay up on his feet, but he needed Gamble to see, hear, and understand him.
He wasn’t upset that Gamble had hesitated on the battlefield. On the contrary, he admired him for it. Someone who could weigh the good and the bad and tell the difference between them was someone that he wanted on his team.
