And then I feel it. Cool night air on my cheek, a light autumn breeze flowing over my heated skin.
Saints above. I’m free.
I beg for my mates,needing their skin against mine, their bodies moving with mine, but they deny me.
“You’re too fragile right now, my darling,” Ian murmurs while applying a spell to my abdomen to dull the pain.
I scowl up at him, batting at him ineffectually. “I need it.”
“You need to rest, love,” Cassian says, kneeling beside me with a bottle of water. I bat at him too but eventually drink down the whole bottle. He caps it and tosses it aside before lying down with me, pulling me into his arms.
I vaguely recognize my nest around me, but the haze andneed have stolen my thoughts away once more. Home? Am I home? Is this all some sort of dream? My pack is finally here with me, their touches soft on my heated skin.
Cassian tucks me against him and nuzzles my temple, marking me with a scent I want to spike, want to drink in until the feverish need inside me subsides. Ian applies another spell, this time to my neck, and I glare up at him at the betrayal.
Another sedative to string me out, like I haven’t suffered enough during this heat.
“I hate you,” I snarl. “How dare you sedate me? You’re supposed to be mymate, so mate me!”
Pain flashes through his bright blue eyes, but I barely register it as the sedative pulls me under.
I walk a tightrope between wakefulness and sleep, unable to fully wake, unable to finally succumb to a few hours of sleep. I hear my pack talking quietly in my nest around me, but their words are muted, too far away to make out. Still, the sound of their voices, their scents in my nose, is a relief so palpable tears leak down my cheeks.
Someone brushes them away with the cuff of their shirt. Simon. I whine for him, but all he does is press a kiss to my forehead. “Rest, Junes. You need to rest. You’ve been through something horrific. Your body is weak.”
I shoot him a dark look and turn over in my nest, right into Ian’s arms.
I burst into tears at how cruel I was to him, but the need inside me still flares, unsatisfied. “I don’t hate you,” I sob. “Please forgive me. I’m so sorry, Ian.”
He dries my tears and holds me close. “I know, my darling. I know. And I know you’re needy, but Simon is correct. You’re weak right now.”
I whine but let him tuck me against his shoulder. His scent is strong here, and it washes over me in a wave of cedarand bergamot. He nuzzles his scent into my skin, and I preen for him, tears still leaking from my eyes. “My father sedated me while I was confined. I thought he was going to kill me. I’m sorry,” I say again, my voice choked with tears.
“Shh. I love you, Juniper. Nothing you could say will ever change that.”
I look up at him, my eyes watery. “I love you, too.”
The sedative pulls me back under, and this time, wrapped in my alpha’s arms, I finally fall asleep.
My fever breaks the next morning, and I kick away the sweat-soaked sheets, fighting with my blankets. Luca helps me, pulling back the blankets and sheets and shoving them down to the foot of my nest. His eyes shine with tears as he strokes my cheek, marking me with his scent. I keen into his touch, but the desire is gone from my core. Finally.
“You’re alive and here with us,” Luca breathes, amazed. “Saints, I thought we would never see you again.”
I nuzzle his neck. “They weren’t going to kill me,” I murmur. “But I… but I thought…”
He holds me closer. “You don’t need to say it, princess. We all know. We’ve all been through something horrific, but we’re free now. Can I convince you to eat something?”
“Not if it means you leaving this nest,” I grumble.
Not a moment later, Marcus appears at the top of the stairs, a small plate in his hand. Luca releases me, and I crawl to the edge of my nest. Marcus crouches before me, tilts my chin up and pulls me into a sweet kiss. “We’ve got you, sweet-tart. You’re safe.”
“Stay with me?” I beg, looking up into his green-gray eyes. His scent has been missing from my nest, and I need him beside me, need to feel his strong arms around me.
He bundles me into his arms, settling me on his lap. “Eat first, and then I’ll lie down with you, okay?”
“Okay,” I say softly. I let him feed me apple slices dippedin peanut butter while curled to him, breathing in his scent. The scent that belongs here, with my pack. When I’ve finished my food, he sets the plate on the stairs and comes to me, wrapping his arms around me.
“You’ll stay?”
