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I’m so out of sorts and focused on Syn that I hadn’t even noticed that I couldn’t access my magic. While I can still feel my bonds, the dark presence and Star are muted, something I should have realised earlier. This explains why they’d both been so quiet. I expected Star to be pushing to be released as soon as I was in the cell, wanting to be with her mate.
“Look at him,” Atlas argues, and from the corner of my eye, I see him gesturing towards us. “He’s watching her like he’s going to eat her! She’s in danger.” Exasperated, he shakes his head with disbelief. “Why aren’t you concerned? She is locked in a cell with a crazed werewolf.”
“I am concerned. Laelia’s safety is always my top priority,” Nicolai replies, his words biting, and I can feel his offence at being accused of not having my safety at heart. “However, she trusts him, so I will too. If she needs help, she’ll ask for it.”
This makes me love Nicolai even more than I already did. He’s always been one of my biggest supporters, and I’m so grateful to him for standing up for me now. The urge to go to him and show him exactly how grateful I am stirs within me, but Syn is still stalking me, and I need to pay attention so things don’t get out of hand.
“Besides,” Nicolai continues, “you’ll be putting her in more danger by going in there as you’ll only antagonise him.” He’s right, and I hear the others agreeing, their voices fading as they move back from the cell entrance.
Relieved that I don’t need to worry about any outside influences, I take a steadying breath and move towards Syn. Seeing me cross the cell, he freezes, watching me carefully. When I get to him, I see he’s barely breathing. I place my hand on his chest, and he releases a huge, pent-up breath.
“Syn,” I whisper, reaching up to cup his face between my hands. “Mate, I’m here, I’m safe.”
His wolf is in his eyes, and I sense that he’s seconds from shifting. Gathering me into his arms, he moves over to the back corner of the cell, kicking the mattress into place in the process. Kneeling down, he gently places me on the mattress before climbing on and pulling me against his body. He leans down to inhale my scent. “Mate,” he mumbles, voice more animal than human.
Twisting in his hold so I can cup his cheeks, I stroke him with my thumbs and hold eye contact. “Alpha, mate, come back to me,” I plead quietly. “I need you.”
My words seem to have some effect as he stills and something shifts in his eyes. As my alpha and mate, providing for my needs is one of his key duties, and something that he takes seriously. We stay this way for some time, not speaking, just looking into each other’s eyes and letting our bond reconnect. I can feel him battling for control, fighting against the primal urge to claim me in front of everyone so they can’t deny it. With the way my bond is acting and how his wolf is calling to mine, I know I’d get swept up in the moment and be unable to hold myself back. While I love a good claiming, and just the idea of it makes my skin tingle with excitement, this isn’t the right time or place for it. We both know it. I can feel his acknowledgement of that in how hard he’s attempting to hold back. Instead, we fall into the feeling of being reunited, cementing our connection by simply holding each other.
I see some of his humanity return to him, his eyes lightening, and a small, cautious smile curves his lips. “Laelia.”
I slump with relief. I hadn’t realised just how tense I was, fearing that it was too late and I’d never get my Syn back. We still have a long way to go, I can sense how fragile his control is, but I’m going to take the blessing for what it is.
“Hey.” My smile is wide, and I attempt to hide the tremble of my lips as I fight back the relieved tears in my eyes. “It’s good to have you back,” I comment breathlessly, my chest overflowing with emotions that I’m attempting to process. Overwhelmed, I laugh and bring a shaky hand to my forehead. I’m still in a state of disbelief over the fact that he’s here. The situation is bad. The queen has openly threatened his safety for my compliance, and he’s locked away here, half mad. However, I’m going to take every moment we have together as a blessing and make the most of it.
His smile slips as he picks up on the onslaught of emotions from my side of the connection, and his eyes flicker under his tenuous control. Leaning forward, he presses his forehead against mine, closing his eyes as he rests it there. “I had to find you,” he mumbles quietly, but I hear him nonetheless, my heart fluttering in response.
Enjoying the physical contact and feeling rejuvenated by it, I hum softly, running my fingers up and down the length of his arm. There’s a lot I need to ask him, and I’ve put it off long enough. Using his comment as an opening, I clear my throat. “Do you know how you managed it?”
With our bond blocked, he shouldn’t have been able to find me here, yet he tracked me down. I need to know why so I can work out if Joel or Scott are going to turn up, trying to break me free. My suspicions tell me that it’s something to do with Syn’s darkness, and that it’s given him some additional ability to track me down that we didn’t know about previously.
Pulling away enough to look me in the eyes, he nods slightly. “The voice told me.”
He looks at me with expectation, as though hearing a voice that leads him places is completely normal. Is this part of the madness he seems to be suffering with, or is someone tampering with him? The witches here have a vast array of abilities, so one of them could have been dropping thoughts into his mind that brought him here. Why they’d do that, I don’t know—probably to try and prove that werewolves are a threat.
Alarmed, I try to disguise my concern and keep my voice light. “The voice?”
“Laelia,” Atlas calls, impatience making him snap and break the moment between Syn and me. “We have to go.”
Perfect bloody timing, I grumble to myself, watching as Syn’s eyes change in a way I now recognise as him sinking into madness. His gaze turns to the corridor, his eyes narrowed on Atlas. Needing the answer, I ignore my witch mate and keep my focus on Syn, attempting to bring his attention back to me. “Tell me about the voice,” I coax.
“Laelia. Now.” Voice sharp with frustration, Atlas barks the command.
Tension fills the air, and I have to take a moment to collect myself. I’m trying to keep Syn calm, and Atlas acting like this and making me lose my temper with him isn’t going to help. Gritting my teeth, I keep my attention on Syn, my fingers continuing their path along his arm. “No, I need more time with my mate.”
It’s too late. Atlas’s aggressive tone has already had a negative effect on Syn, a low growl coming from his chest, destroying any progress we made. I won’t be getting that answer today, all thanks to Atlas being impatient and not being able to wait for me. I level a glare at the witch, hoping he feels my anger at how he acted.
With an air of superiority, he just raises a brow at me, not caring in the slightest. “You’ve been summoned to court by the queen. You know you can’t say no.”
He’s right, I don’t have a choice if I want my mates to stay safe. I know that leaving like this is going to upset Syn, but he’s in a much better state than he had been thanks to several hours of physical contact. I may be forced to attend court with the queen, but I never agreed to stay for long.I won’t be gone long, I tell myself, trying to assuage my guilt. Clearing my throat, I start to untangle myself from him, immediately catching his attention. He watches as I stand up, pushing into a crouch and preparing to give chase should he need to.
“Syn, I’ll be back soon, and we’ll spend more time together.” Backing away as I speak, I attempt to reason with him, seeing some of the male I love in there.
His eyes widen as he realises what’s happening, and he stands upright. “No, don’t go.” Rather than the order I thought he’d snap at me, his voice is quiet and pleading. He holds his hand out for me to take, and there’s a silent plea written across his face. “Laelia.”
At the same time, a guard appears in my peripheral from the corridor, and he shoves his hand through the barrier, gesturing for me to take it. Looking between the two hands, I feel like my heart is breaking all over again. If I take the guard’s hand, then I’ll hurt Syn and possibly make his condition worse. If I take Syn’s hand, he or Nicolai will probably be the ones to suffer the consequences.
Praying to the goddess that I’m making the right decision, I slam my hand into the guard’s. He looks bored, as if this whole situation is too much of an inconvenience for him, and yanks me back out into the corridor.
