I rake a hand through my hair, pacing again, my beast thrashing under my skin.Go to her.Fix it.Hold her.
But I don’t.I’ve ruined enough things by wanting too much.
Eventually, her breathing evens out, softening into sleep once more.The bond thrums, gentler now, tugging me back toward her like it always does.My feet move before I decide, and I end up at the edge of the bed again.
She’s curled tight, clutching the blanket like a shield.Her face is damp, her lashes clumped from tears.My gut twists.I’m a real fucking asshole.
Carefully, I sit beside her.Not touching, not close enough to wake her.Just ...there.
Her scent wraps around me, clean now, faint traces of herbs and firewood mixed with something uniquely hers.It fills the hollow spaces inside me, the ones I swore no one would ever touch again.
I drop my head into my hands, elbows braced on my knees.The words scrape out of me in a whisper too quiet for her to hear.
“I’m sorry.”
It’s not enough.Not close.But it’s all I have.
I stay there until my body aches from holding still, until sleep drags at my bones.The fire crackles low, shadows crawl along the walls, and still, I can’t make myself leave her side.
Because no matter how many times I tell myself bonds are chains, no matter how much I fight it ...I already know.
I’m hers.
Chapter Seven
Running From Shadows
Thorne
The cabin is too quiet.Too close.
I lie awake long after Altero’s breathing evens, listening to the fire crackle, to the weight of silence pressing down on me.His presence burns at my back, I don’t need to turn to know he’s there, sitting on the edge of the bed like a sentinel, refusing sleep for my sake.
It should comfort me.Instead, it makes the bond ache worse.
Every time I close my eyes, I see Gabriel’s face.I hear the words he spat before he left me on my knees in front of everyone.You’re not enough.You’ll never be enough.
