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I tilted my head at him. “Can you read minds? I was just thinking about that.”
His responding smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “No, but I’ve been thinking about it, too. The sooner we can cut the connection Knox forced on you, the better for everyone.”
There was one thought that had come to my mind, and while neither my wolf nor I liked the idea, I felt the need to express it.
“What if I didn’t cut the tie and used it against him like he is us?” I asked. The words made me want to vomit, but we had to be smart about this situation. Knox currently had the advantage, and we had to find some way to take that from him.
Cillian’s body simmered with fury, and his eyes darkened as he looked right at me. “Abso-fucking-lutely not. I don’t care if you being bonded to him saved a thousand lives. You’re mine. Not his.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at his outrage. Not that there was anything funny about our situation, but knowing how strongly he cared for me brought a much-needed happiness into my heart.
I leaned my head against his shoulder as we sat in his makeshift bed, leaning against the wall inside the cave. “I’m more than okay with that. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t being selfish by not sharing the thought once I’d had it.”
His grip squeezed my hand tighter. “There is nothing selfish when it comes to us being together. I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks.”
My eyes fluttered closed, and I let my body relax against Cillian’s. It had been more than a week since I’d had decent sleep. While resting on the ground wasn’t ideal, it was so much better than the nights I’d spent in that cell, alone with no light.
Cillian’s fingers stroked over my cheek, and he kissed the top of my head. “Sleep, Mate. I’ll wake you if there are any changes.”
I nodded and burrowed in closer, sliding down until my head lay in his lap and my legs were curled up next to him.
The last thought I remembered before passing out was that nothing had ever felt safer than falling asleep with Cillian watching over me.
* * *
Something or someonewas touching me, but I couldn’t find the will to care. My body was warm, my eyes were heavy, and my mind was blank. I felt completely blissful.
For a short time, I’d forgotten where I was, what had happened, and what was to come. All I knew was that I was with Cillian and, for the moment, everything was okay.
“I need to go see Lykem,” my mate’s voice whispered into my ear. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
His hand brushed my hair back, and he started to move out from under me, but it was too late. I was awake, and everything from the day—hell, the week—before came flooding back.
I sat up and reached a hand up to him. “I’ll go with you.”
“You should keep sleeping,” he said, but still pulled me up and held me against his chest.
“I should be wherever you are.” The words sounded cheesy to my ear but felt right to my heart.
He nodded against my head. “Let’s go then.”
With our fingers connected, we walked back down the tunnels. Cillian’s small section of space was in a corner with just four other people. I assumed it was the middle of the night, so I kept quiet as we traveled through the dark walkways.
Fire torches hung every twenty-or-so feet, casting just enough light for us to see where we were going, but I’d already forgotten which way was the exit. Thankfully, Cillian knew exactly where he was going.
We didn’t pass any other shifters inside the cave, but once we were outside—where the moon was high in the sky and stars shined everywhere I looked up—I sensed several others nearby.
Lykem had been brought closer to the entrance of the cave and was still in his dragon form. From the conversations I’d heard earlier, that wasn’t a good thing.
Standing next to him were Winter and two men I’d yet to meet. The nearest man had burns on the right side of his face that started at his forehead and continued down past the neckline of his shirt. He was the first to look over at us, his bright-green eyes landing on me, then Cillian.
“Fane,” Cillian said to him, reaching a hand out. “Any updates?”
He shrugged, glancing over at the fallen dragon. “His heart beats steadily.”
The other man stepped forward, this one several inches shorter than both Cillian and Fane, but wide set with muscles on top of muscles. His auburn hair fell over his forehead when he nodded in agreement. “The longer he lives, even in this form, the higher chance we’ll see him make a full recovery. All of his bones reset as they needed to.”
Cillian grimaced. “Rebreaking his wing wasn’t the most fun thing I’ve ever done.”
