As soon as I realize I’m on a bed, the urge to throw up returns with a vengeance. I gently shift my ankles and wrists, audibly sighing in relief when it’s clear I’m not restrained. A floorboard squeaks and I freeze, extending my muddled senses to the best of my abilities, attempting to learn anything that might help me.
“Ezra?” a low voice asks on a whisper.
“Soren?” I croak out, my throat dry.
I could sob in relief at not being alone, though I chase that away with my building anger that they not only hurt me, but him too. I’m going to burn Vince and whoever he’s working with alive, record their screams, and play it every night to lull me to sleep.
“Thank the Fates,” he rushes out, and the bed dips as he sits beside me. “How are you feeling, little dragon?” he murmurs softly, caressing my face and gently stroking his thumb over my face.
“Like I was hit by a truck,” I groan and a second later he’s helping me sit up, a water bottle pressed to my lips that I greedily swallow down. “Where are we?”
He pulls me into his solid chest, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Home.”
I blink, surrounded in darkness and his charcoal scent. My brain is still fighting to keep up, begging me to slip back into unconsciousness. If it wasn’t for Soren’s hold, I would slump back over easily.
“Wait, what?”
He kisses the crown of my head, gently rubbing his hand over my back in soothing strokes. “You don’t seem to have much faith in your bodyguard, beautiful,” he jokes, but it sounds forced.
“Suck up all you want, you’re not getting a raise,” I respond, my words slightly slurred as I start to fall back asleep. “Bullet points please, I think I’m about to pass out again.”
He stills, a low growl building in his throat that courses through his chest, weirdly soothing on my face. His hand returns to stroking my back, but the motion’s jerkier than before.
“When you passed out, the pheromone issue took care of itself and the other men in the room stopped acting like idiots and realized what was happening. They restrained Vince before he woke up and the guy that tranquilized you until your brothers could get there and decide what to do with them.
“I took you to the hospital to get checked out, but they said it just needed to wear off, gave you a bag of fluids and sent us off,” he scoffs, angry. “Didn’t even make a report. So I brought you home to sleep it off.”
He helps me get comfortable and I sink into the pillows, turning onto my side and feeling far more at ease now. “Cai and Yri?”
He lies down next to me, drawing me closer and draping an arm over my hip. “Rushed back here to check on you and are currently with your brothers, torturing information out of the bastards.”
My eyes flutter shut, trusting them to take care of it. “And you didn’t want to join the bloodbath?” I mumble, half asleep.
His thumb starts tracing a path over my hip, lulling me back to sleep. “Don’t worry, little dragon, there will be plenty of blood to shed when you awaken. Sleep now, revenge later.”
Chapter 16
