Felix helps me to the shower where I rinse away dirt, blood, and whatever else I’ve been lying in for more thantwomonths. I allow the water to pour over me until I’m clean, even though my legs feel heavy and unstable. The second I step out of the shower and wipe the condensation on the mirror, I nearly fall over at the sight of myself.
My face doesn’t even look like my face. It’s sunken and frail. The lines of my ribcage show through the ink, my skin deathly pale. I stare for so long that I barely even recognise the person in front of me. He might have done this to me, but he didn’t break me. That’s one thing I’ll always hold onto.
When I step out of my en-suite, I find Felix waiting for me. I quirk a brow at him. “You gonna help me wipe my ass, too?”
“Shut up,” Felix murmurs. “I’m making sure you didn’t pass out.”
The room turns silent as I dig through my clothes to put something on.
“It’s good to have you home, Caleb,” he says. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help. I would have done everything I could.”
I release a grunt. “You already did. I gave you an order, and you went behind my back.”
“To protect Evan.” He folds his arms over his chest. “What did you want me to do…chain him to the wall? He was adamant about seeing you again. You would have done the same for him. Put yourself in his shoes.”
I can’t argue with that. I would have destroyed everything to find him.
Once I’m dressed and somewhat presentable, although despising what I see in the mirror, I head over to Jaxon’s pack without hesitation. The doctors suggested that I remain in bed, but I need my mate to remind me we’re both safe.
The guards around Jaxon’s perimeter stop me in surprise and guide me towards the house, where Jaxon steps out of the front door of his private annex.
“Caleb?”
“Hey,” I rasp.
Jaxon heads towards me before wrapping his arms around me. The action takes me by surprise because he’s not an overly affectionate man unless it’s for Ava and Aurora.
“You’re back.”
“I’m back.”
“What happened? Are you okay?”
After I pull away, I nod. “I’m okay,” I confess. “Where’s Evan? I really need to see him.”
Like my life depends on it.
“He’s inside, he?—”
I don’t hear the rest of his sentence as I take off into the house.
“Evan?” I call out, my heart pounding in my throat.
Silence washes over me before I say his name, again and again. Then a figure appears at the top of the stairs. My head tilts, and I lay my gaze on blond hair and blue eyes. I tremble at the sight of him as he stands there. My eyes start to burn because this is all I’ve been dreaming of.
“Caleb,” he whimpers.
Then he’s charging down the stairs.
63
EVAN
“You were with Felix and Zara again,” Jaxon says as he corners me in the library.
It’s been the place I’ve been hiding out for some peace and quiet. But I can’t go far without someone following me. It’s been this way for months, so I’m used to it now.
“Yeah,” I say without removing my eyes from my book.
