My heart rate picked up, breaths coming quicker, and I couldn’t stop it. Couldn’t seem to get a handle on anything, staggering into Nick, the heel of my palm pressed into my breastbone as I struggled to suck in air.
“Mase?” Nick’s voice had an air of urgency about it, but I couldn’t find my voice. “Hey, Mase. Look at me.”
I turned to face him, and whatever I looked like was enough to make his eyes go wide. I felt lightheaded, blackness creeping at the edges of my vision, and still, I couldn’t get any air into my lungs.
“Breathe for me.” He gripped my shoulders. “Fuckingbreathe.”
I tried to focus on his words, but it was like I was trying to breathe through cement.
“Max,” Nick hissed. “Help him.”
And then it was gone.
I sucked in a huge breath, coughing violently as I braced against Nick for support. My heart rate returned to normal and with it came a horrifying realisation. “It wasn’t me,” I whispered, grabbing Nick’s arm. “It wasn’tme.” It had sure as fuck felt like it was happening to me, but as soon as it stopped, I knew it’d been Rys.
Whatever had just happened had been happening to Rys.
And that wasn’t all.
I pressed my hand to my chest. The hollow, empty feeling made it suddenly hard to swallow. “I can’t feel him anymore.”
* * *
Rys
Wrong.
Everything felt wrong but I couldn’t work out why.
Jumbled thoughts were all I could manage through the pounding in my head, and I couldn’t find the strength to look up and see where I was.
I could smell though.
Breathing in deep, I concentrated hard on anything familiar.
The sour scent of chemicals filled my nose, making me grimace, but underneath that was something so very fucking familiar it hit me like a hot poker.
Gabriel.
His scent clung to the air, so thick he was either close by or I was in his house. Either scenario should’ve been comforting, but his scent wasn’t the only thing I could smell.
Strangers.
Blood.
Axel.
A low rumbling growl escaped before I could stop it, and the answering laughter sent a shiver down my spine.
“Looks like someone’s waking up.” Footsteps sounded, coming in my direction, but I couldn’t get my body to move. Everything felt heavy, my arms and legs weighed down with something that refused to let me go.
Rough fingers grabbed my hair, yanking my head back so sharply, I gasped. Whoever it was waited for me to open my eyes.
It took me a good few seconds, but eventually I managed to open them enough to see a face I’d never wanted to set eyes on again.
“Tombs.” I snarled, managing to snap my teeth at him, but as hard as I tried to shift into my wolf, nothing happened.
“I wondered if you’d remember me,” he said, almost fondly, and stroked his fingers through my hair.
