The door’s locked, so I partially shift, using the extra boost of strength to shoulder it open. The door frame splinters, and Kodiak’s snoring cuts off as he jolts awake. A quick scan of the bathroom shows no one but me has broken in, and Amara kneeling on the dark tile beside the empty bathtub, her back to me. Jean jacket in hand at her side, she clutches it hard enough that her knuckles are white.
The air in here is so thoroughly saturated with her distress, I don’t think we’ll ever fully get the scent out.
“Amara, love, talk to me. What happened?”
Approaching slowly, I catch sight of the piece of paper in her other hand, her eyes glazed over like she’s completely retreated within herself.
Kodi storms in. “What the fuc-” he cuts off when he gets a huge inhale of the room, better attuned to Amara and interpreting her needs than any of us. It took him all of two seconds to discern that fear has frozen her vocal chords, turning to me instead. “What’s in her hand?”
Crouching beside her, I gently pry the paper out of her death grip.
––––––––
Don’t worry, darling, I’m coming for you. Be strong a little longer for me.
-M.
––––––––
Black spots dance inthe corners of my vision, and I’m not sure which is stronger; the urge to vomit, or shift so I can watch his head explode like a grape when I stomp on it. IfI’mstruggling this much, I can only imagine the thoughts racing through Amara’s head right now.
Through gritted teeth, I tell Kodi, “Get Raiden, and meet us in the last room in my wing.” He hesitates for only a second before he takes off, and I stuff the note in the pocket of my pajama pants. “Amara, I’m going to pick you up now, alright?”
Agonizingly slowly, I wrap one arm around her back, and as much as I despise it, I’m grateful when she startles, nearly falling. It’s better than her being so far gone she didn’t even notice someone touching her, or worse, care, like she’d completely given up. Sliding my other hand beneath her thighs, I stand, pulling her tightly into my chest and striding out of the room.
“You’re safe, he can’t hurt you here. I’ve got you, and I always will. ”
Making my way into our game room, I power everything up with one hand, refusing to let her go. Rearranging her on my lap so she’s more comfortable, I loop my arms around her middle, resting my wrists on top of her thighs as I hold my controller. Bringing up our saved file, the game dumps us right back at the level we left off on, with the undefeatable troll. Amara’s hands shake, but she holds onto her controller in a vice grip, like it’s a lifeline she’s desperately clinging to. Kodiak and Raiden come into the room, and their fury is palpable in the air, clashing with Amara’s anxiety until I’m worried that we’re going to make each other sick from all of the whiplash.
Avery glides over, talons biting into my arm as she uses me as a living perch. It’s a welcome pain, though. As soon as Raiden’s pet nuzzles the side of her head against Amara, my mate releases a shaky breath, some of the rigid tension in her muscles leaving with her exhale.
Maybe we should get a guard dog, too, just to be safe.
No, that’s stupid, everybody has a dog, and they need to be let out too often. She already has three dragons to protect her, she needs something low maintenance for emotional support when Avery’s not around.
Like a turtle.
Raiden’s words are barely discernible through his growled demand. “Show me.”
Freeing the note from my pocket, I offer it over my shoulder, returning to the game. Before, I was mostly screwing around, watching Amara enjoy herself more than actually trying. Now? Old instincts are flaring to life, my countless stints enacting Raiden’s military strategies making me look at everything on the screen more seriously, trying to come up with plausible plans of attack the game creators would have considered to beat the boss on this level.
Amara needs a win, and this is the only one within reach right now. Even if we fail, I’m banking on her getting sucked into the game as the distraction she desperately needs, or to get pissed off in her frustration again.
I’d rather an angry mate than one crippled with fear.
The scent of smoke accompanies the softwhooshof the note being burned to a crisp. “How. The.Fuck.Did he get close enough to slip that in her pocket without either of them noticing?” Each word rises in volume, but Kodiak sees my plan and acts as an extension of myself, smacking the back of his hand against Raiden’s chest.
Doing everything in his power to keep his tone level, Kodi suggests, “I doubt it was actually him. He’s got enough lemmings working beneath him, it’d be easy enough to have one of them sneak the note in Amara’s pocket while she and Carina were walking on the sidewalk or something.”
“What do we know about Malcolm’s abilities?”
An awkwardly long pause takes over the room, only the sound of Amara aggressively smashing buttons keeping it from complete silence. Eventually, Raiden clears his throat. “Nothing beyond the fact that he’s a dragon shifter. I’ve seen him shift myself, but no one I’ve reached out to has any information as to his abilities.”
Kodi and Raiden devolve into a hushed argument while Amara and I continue to bludgeon alien grunts to death. The longer time goes on, the more the bitter tang of fear recedes from her scent, replaced with a flick of a match. As the minutes pass, the spark grows into a steady ember, burning away the icy claws of terror wrapped around her throat.
I can tell the moment she’s figured out how to defeat the troll, her entire aura lighting up with a flash of determination so strong, I have to rub my tongue on the roof of my mouth to keep from showing any reaction. Her body tenses and she sits up straighter, a little more of the panic ebbing away as she takes control ofsomething.
Kodi keeps it to a whisper, but loud enough it’s clear Amara’s not being spoken around like she isn’t in the room. “I’m going to pay Jack a visit tomorrow. Carina’s been more focused on retribution than gathering information and keeping him on ice for us since she’s been busy running Khalida. You coming?”
