Chapter 26
“Brady…” Lucius whispered, afraid to open his eyes lest it had all been a dream. When only silence followed his plea, an all-too-familiar fear began to flood his mind. He called out louder, “Hello?”
Startled, Brady bolted upright , unsure of what had awakened him. Glancing around the room, he made sure it wasn’t a threat of some kind and, satisfied it wasn’t, then turned his attention to his mate, spying a tear slowly making its way down Lucius’ cheek. Gently flicking it away, he leaned forward, lightly brushing his lips against his mate’s. “Leelan…”
Sighing, Lucius’ fear faded; it wasn’t a dream. His mate was real. Opening his eyes, he stared into Brady’s, losing himself in their depths. There was not a sign of judgement in them, only love and understanding, giving him peace—something he’d sorely missed in his life. “You’re still here.”
“I am. Were you worried I’d leave?”
“Yeah…kinda.”
“Why?
“Because…” Lucius’ voice trailed off, trying to delay seeing Brady’s disgust when he told his mate the truth about himself.
Placing two fingers under Lucius’ chin, Brady lifted his mate’s face, finding sadness there. Pausing for a moment, he sorted through the possible causes, then settling on one, he said, “Leelan, what happened in the past is of no importance to me so do not fret… I’ll never leave you…ever.”
“My past is important,” Lucius cried. “You can’t say that when you don’t know what I did.”
“I’m fully knowledgeable about your past and that’s why I can. Do you want to know why?” After seeing his mate nod, he continued. “In law, intent is everything. For instance, a thief enters a store, not to buy anything, but to steal something. Nothing is forcing him to do the act except his own greed. That’s intent. However, in your case, there wasn’t any intent. Your master forced you to do as he bid and you were powerless to do otherwise.”
“But I knew better,” Lucius whispered.
“You did, but as you found out early on, Valerian took control of you after he changed you and then put a death spell on you. You were then his enslaved servant, his puppet, one might say. Yet even then, you still found ways to stay true to who you are.”
“I don’t understand why you think that...I did so many terrible things.”
“Leelan, you are forgetting how you carried out some of Valerian’s orders. Look at what happened with Reif’s father the last time you saw him.”
Lucius’ eyes grew huge as shame filled his heart. Shaking at the memory, he whispered, “Don’t you mean what I did to him?”
“You’re referring to the superficial wound you gave him, right? The one he was able to heal simply by shifting?”
Unable to speak, Lucius nodded slowly.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Valerian order you to use your power to cause unrecoverable injury to him,leelan?” Brady paused until he saw the confirmation of his statement in his mate’s face. Then, he said, “But the fact you didn’t follow his orders speaks volumes about who you are, Lucius…a good person. You were forced into a life you didn’t want, so you did the best you could with the cards you were dealt. Buried in your memory are thousands of incidents where your choices showed how hard you fought to retain the inherent goodness of your soul. That’s why I’m honored to be your mate and why I’ll never leave you.”
Tears pooled in Lucius’ eyes. Not once during the long years of his servitude to Valerian, did he ever imagine his life taking this unexpected turn. There were so many times he’d wished for death, but deep inside him, a small flicker of hope burned that somehow he’d be rescued from the hell his life had become. And now, it had happened. Reaching up, he caressed Brady’s cheek with his hand, enjoying the rough feel of his scruff. “I…you…I still find it hard to believe I have an amazing mate like you.”
“My feelings are the same,” Brady said, softly. Leaning down, he kissed his mate gently, letting his lips linger over Lucius’ for a moment before withdrawing. Desire ignited within him, almost overcame him, but he held back, refusing to press his mate at this time. Glancing up at the nearly empty blood bag, he stood, grabbing for another. “Time for a new one. How are you feeling?”
Gazing down, Lucius looked at his legs, concentrating on making them move. At first nothing happened, but then he saw his toes twitch. Putting more effort into it, he watched as tremors seized his feet, causing his legs to jerk apart. Grinning at his body’s reaction, he gathered up his remaining strength for one final effort. “I did it! I can move my legs!”
Eyeing the sweat on his mate’s forehead, Brady touched a bead with a finger, smiling at the clearness of the fluid; the blood was gone. That, with his mate’s ability to move his legs, convinced Brady that Lucius would be fully recovered by tomorrow morning. As happy as that made him, now his mate needed rest. “That’s a good sign,leelan, but no more pushing yourself, okay?”
Exhausted by his efforts, Lucius didn’t argue—his body agreed with his mate’s advice. Dropping his head down on the pillow, he whispered a prayer of thanks to whoever was responsible for sending Brady to him. Then, turning his head, his eyes locked with his mate’s and the love he saw there infused his body with warmth and desire. As much as he was grateful for his mate sitting at his side, that was no longer what he wanted or needed; now he craved to feel Brady lying next to him. Unsure of how to express his feelings, he asked, “Where are you going to sleep?”
Misunderstanding, Brady replied, “I’m not leaving you if that’s what’s worrying you.”
Shaking his head, Lucius said, “I’m not very good at this. What I really mean is…will you sleep with me?”
“In your bed? Oh my, of course…in your bed,” Brady murmured, his cheeks turning pink.
“I’m sorry if I’m out of line,” Lucius said. “It’s just that…I can’t explain it since I never felt like this before…but I just really need to be close to you…all of you.”
“Are you sure it would be okay?” asked Brady, trying to keep his rising excitement in check
“Please…you don’t have to get undressed if you don’t want to.”
