She moved closer to the bars. “The important thing is you came back to us. You came back to me. That’s a miracle all of its own. Now, we just need one more.”
He snarled, gutted by her hopeful optimism. That had always been her way. It had been the thing that had brought him through countless doubts and dark moments over the years.
But hope and optimism weren’t going to pull him through this.
Worry knit her brows. Based on the sharp scraping of his thirst, he knew it wasn’t only concern that drew her features into a pained expression.
“Lucan, you haven’t fed all this time. I know you’re starving because I can feel it.”
She slid her hand between the bars, turning her arm until her wrist hovered just feet in front of him. He could smell the intoxicating, familiar fragrance of his Breedmate’s bloodscent. The urge to lunge forward and take that tender limb to his fangs was overwhelming.
He fought to resist it, knowing if he drank even a sip, her blood would make him crave more. It would only prolong the inevitable and worsen his insatiable thirst.
Worse was the idea that he might injure her.
That was something he could never bear.
Gabrielle seemed undeterred. She stretched her arm inside even farther, straining to reach him. “Let me help you, please.”
The roar that escaped him shook the thick walls. He forced himself into motion, flashing to the opposite corner of the cell. He crouched there like a wraith, vibrating with bone-deep fury. Not for her, but for how fiercely he wanted to take what she offered.
“Go,” he rasped. “Leave me, Gabrielle.”
“Never.” There wasn’t so much as a hint of trepidation in her voice. Only unwavering resolve. “I told you that a long time ago, Lucan Thorne. You promised me eternity, remember?”
The memory slammed into him, as fresh and vivid as the night they pledged their lives together. The bittersweet anguish of those vows felt like a curse to him now. All he had left to offer the woman he adored was misery and pain.
The awful weight of his guilt exploded out of him.“I said get the fuck out of here.”
She flinched at his furious outburst, but she didn’t budge. “I know what you’re doing. You want me to leave so you can do something awful.” Slowly, she withdrew her arm from the cell. She shook her head, her gaze locked on him with nothing but love and stubborn tenacity. “We’ve been through hard things together before, Lucan. I’m never giving up on you, on us.”
Even through his rage and madness, he recognized her unbreakable resolve. Nothing he said or did was going to persuade her to abandon him. Not even Bloodlust. Not even the agony he had shackled her to through their blood bond.
The very qualities that had attracted him to her from the beginning were the ones that infuriated him now. Her hard-headed determination. Her courage. Her loyalty toward everyone she cared about. Her unshakable belief in him.
He’d thought she’d already seen him at his worst before she’d humbled him by becoming his mate. Never in his worst nightmares had he imagined he’d one day put her through this.
He couldn’t bear to see her looking at him so tenderly in spite of the jagged pain his disease had to be causing her. He would rather be put back under sedation and hope to not wake up again.
Gabrielle could feel that too.
Her hands gripped the bars as if she were taking hold of him. “Don’t you dare fucking give up, do you hear me? We’ll find a way through this. We have to. Until then, I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.”
The sedation was wearing off fast now. The waves of hunger that had been scraping at his insides now dug talons into him. The shredding pain wasn’t anything he couldn’t bear, but Gabrielle doubled over sharply, crying out.
He couldn’t take it.
Tipping his head back, he bellowed Gideon’s name.
The warrior rushed in from somewhere else, skidding to halt when he saw Gabrielle in utter agony. “Oh, shit.”
Lucan leapt up, stopping only inches from the UV bars. “Put me back under. Do it now, goddamn it.”
CHAPTER 27
A full day had passed, yet Selene was still reeling from what had happened between her and Darion.
It wasn’t bad enough that she had allowed a prisoner of the realm--a lethal enemy--to knock out several palace guards and stroll into the royal chambers without penalty. He had also kissed her, awakening a shocking desire she was loath to admit even now.
