––––––––
I’m being punishedfor something I did in a past life; that’s the only explanation that makes sense. Why else would I get slapped with not one, butthreefated mates? Three additional chances to drive me into an early grave, to ensure I never have a life of my own. Three more people that think I belong to them, to do with as they please.
All of the air in the room becomes thicker, stifling. Oppressive. Each breath takes more effort than the last, heavy in my lungs.
They’re not going to let me go. I’m going to be locked away again, and they’ll -
No. No, no, no, this can’t be happening.
Bone-chilling terror turns my blood to ice, every nerve ending prickling with the adrenaline that suddenly floods my system. If Malcolm finds out, he's going to lose his absolute shit. Human hookups are one thing, but a mark-mate?Thatchallenges his imaginary claim more than any run-of-the-mill shifter ever could, and he'll escalate way past the occasional murder-spree. I’m not lucky enough for him to put us both out of our misery in one fell swoop. He’ll make Stone watch every single thing he does to me, torture him to keep me in line this time.
Breathe. You have to inhale or you’re going to pass out, Amara. Focus on getting out of here first, then you can freak out,I try to reason, but the musty scent of the basement is growing sharper by the second. My nostrils burn, eyes stinging as the crushing weight of the icy water won’t let up, no matter how hard I struggle to reach the surface.
He’s probably watching me right now. Saw me come to this place twice now and thinks that I'm sleeping with one of them, will burn the entire block down. Oh gods, the neighbors; they have kids.
“Amara!”
Now these three will be chasing me, too. There’s no way they’ll let me go after this. I have to leave, go so far off grid that even I won’t know where I am.
I'm being pulled in too many directions, leaving me stuck in the center to be torn apart.
He knows. Malcolm knows, and now-
My face is tilted up as Stone’s gloved hands settle on both of my cheeks and I jolt, shocking me enough that the soothing timbre of his voice filters through my panicked haze, calm and steady. “Breathe for me,mo stór, it’s alright. We’ll figure this out, but first you have to breathe.”
Parting my lips, I try to suck down air, but there’s not enough left in the room. All I manage is a shallow gasp, enough to tease my lungs and cause an explosion of pain in my chest and head. Furious tears burn the back of my eyes, but I shut them tight before a single one can fall.
“Nothing’salright.”
My legs start to give out and he eases me to sit on the floor, my back against the wall. Pulling away, his footsteps fade as he leaves, and I wrap my arms around my knees, curling in on myself. Everything in my body is urging me to run far and fast, but I can’t make my limbs do what I want them to. In a last ditch effort to keep me alive, all of the adrenaline surging through my veins turns on me like it has a mind of its own. Fight or flight, but since I can’t flee, the only choice left is to face the threat to my survival head on; me.
Everything hurts, tiny fireworks dancing across skin that’s suddenly far too tight. The phantom sensation of Malcolm’s knife slices through it as easily as paper, my stomach lurching as his whispered words taunt me, as real as if he were hovering over my shoulder, murmuring in my ear.
“I know it hurts, darling, but I have to. To protect you.’Another slow drag of the blade. ‘If you’re this beautiful now, I can’t wait to see what the dragon lurking beneath your skin looks like.It’s like unwrapping the prettiest present. Don’t worry, Amara, as soon as it’s safe, I’ll help you find her. I’m going to fix everything, and then no one will ever be able to claim we don’t belong together again.”
Plush fabric covers my front, and my eyes pop open to witness Stone kneeling to gently pull me away from the wall. Once I’m totally cocooned inside of the white comforter, he envelopes me in a tight hug. Some of the pressure lessens in my chest with that extra barrier between me and a world I can’t seem to make sense of, and I can finally suck down a full breath.
"You're right, it’s not alright.” He doesn’t tighten his hold, making me feel trapped. Instead, he keeps the pressure steady; constant. Predictable. “But to be fair, it sounds like your life already sucked. So really, this is hardly any different from every other Tuesday."
Taking another deep breath, I hiccup an incredulous, strangled laugh. "You’re right, I really should have seen this coming. Things were falling into a comfortable routine, and heaven forbid getting my stomach ripped open was considered enough to gut me."
“See? That’s the spirit,” he chuckles, the sound strained.
My reply sticks in my throat, so we fall into silence, but it’s far more bearable than before. All of my concentration is centered on steadying my breathing, Stone’s calming, earthen scent chasing away the lingering basement musk from my senses. Fresh springs, crisp fall air, and sawdust; the clean-cut version of the outdoors that tricks people into thinking it’s fun to hang out in. Though the temptation to flinch away is still there, ingrained into every fiber of my being, it’s been years since I’ve had any form of physical contact. Even then, it was just sex; nobody that knew who or what I was. Genuine comfort? Gods, I haven’t had anyone care enough since the day Malcolm butchered my parents and pulled me out of the darkness beneath the floorboards. So even though I’m tempted to punch Stone in the throat and make a break for it, I can't bring myself to fight my way free of the blanket cocoon, not trusting that I’ll be able to keep breathing on my own quite yet.
“Better?” he asks a small eternity later, forcing me to face reality.
“Yeah.” Heat creeps up my neck, and I can’t bring myself to look at him as I finally untangle myself, getting to shaky legs. “Sorry.” Swiftly gathering all of the papers I dumped onto the table, I clutch them to my chest, hiding behind whatever fragile barrier I can get my hands on until I have a chance to regroup.
“Would you like me to get you another folder for those?” Raiden’s voice has me glancing up, mentally kicking my own ass for freaking out and losing track of my surroundings. But I find both him and Kodiak in the exact same positions I left them, keeping their word about not moving, even if their jaws are clenched hard enough to crack teeth.
“That’s okay, I can-” sighing, I relent “- yeah, actually, I’d appreciate that. I don’t want anything to blow away.”
From my pocket, I withdraw the throwing knife Kodiak gave me, carefully setting it on the table. “I forgot to give this back to you before I left last time.”
“Amara.” The rough plea has me reluctantly meeting his eye, and I regret it instantly. Kodiak’s intense on the best of days, but right now there’s a desperate edge that makes the dark blue irises nearly fathomless and painful to look at. “Let us help you. You don’t need to leave.”
Swallowing, I take the new manilla folder from Raiden as he returns. “You’re right, we all do.” Before he can misinterpret my statement, I hasten to add, “Separately. This house isn’t safe anymore. If you have any pull with your neighbors, you should emphatically suggest that they go visit family out of town or vacation for a while, as well.”
