Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
I phased, leaving only my hands solid, and they heaved me out of the dirt—tugging me free and whole into the moonlight.
“Holy shit!” Nyx cried, his handsome self even more disheveled now that he was covered in dirt. He tumbled back, bringing me down on top of him. “What were you doing in there? Did someone do this? Are you...?” Nyx quieted down as my tears reached his ears.
Clinging to him, I buried my face in his chest, and sobbed my heart out.
“Whoa, whoa,” he whispered, rubbing my back. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
They were sweet words. They were true words. And still, my tears wouldn’t stop. Was I crying because of the trauma of losing Mom? Was I crying because my fated mate rejected me in the most horrific way by trying to outright murder me? Was I crying because my too-short time with my daughter almost ended with me slowly wasting away in the ground? Or was I crying because every day without Castor was so fucking hard! And time only made it harder.
I was crying for all of it, or I was crying for none of it. It didn’t matter, because either way, I couldn’t stop.
I held Nyx tighter—expecting him to push me away, call me out for being the bitch who ruined his life, and gloat in my face for finally getting the dose of revenge I deserved.
Nyx did none of that. Instead, his arms slid around me, and held me close. “It’s okay, Daze. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I don’t know how long we lay there on the disturbed dirt, me bawling like a baby and Nyx whispering sweet, soothing nothings in my ear, but a sharp spike of pain suddenly went through my skull—bringing the moment to an end.
Groaning, I sat up, clutching my head.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I felt two fingers under my chin try to raise me up. “Are you okay?”
My response was to tip over and vomit in the grass.
“Not okay.” Nyx got to his feet and I flashed out, grabbing his arm.
“No,” I cried.
“Don’t worry.” Bending over, he scooped me into his arms. “I’ve got you.”
My stubborn badass side might’ve said something about me not being some weakling who needed to be carried around like a newborn kitten. My lips parted to say just that when a dizzy spell struck me down, making my head loll against his arm. I told that side to shut up before Nyx inevitably did.
“H... How?” I rasped.
“I was out for a run,” Nyx replied, not needing me to expound. “My wolf isn’t afraid of much, but he is afraid of—of my father. I thought a run would help us get the nerves out until we heard the sounds of a shovel... and our mate screaming.”
My throat tightened.
“My wolf went wild tracking your scent and trying to find you. We finally stumbled on a mound of loose dirt and— Well, you know the rest.”
“When...” I squeezed my lids shut. There wasn’t much moonlight coming through the trees and it was still stabbing my eyes. “When you heard him... burying me... What else did you hear?”
“Enough.”
I swallowed hard, shaking from more than the pain.
“Why didn’t you just tell us, Daciana?” Accusation slipped into his voice. “Why the games? Why the secrets? Why the lies? Maybe you have to be at war with the rest of the world, but you never had to be at war with us?”
No response came.
“Daciana, are you listening? Daze...”
Darkness claimed me, carrying me to a world with no pain.
“...SURE THIS WILL WORK...”
Soft, downy fingers cradled me, gently guiding me back from beyond.
“...hasn’t woken up yet...”
“Give it a minute, sweetheart, and then take some yourself. Are you okay, baby? You look terrible. No wonder your mate rejected you. Women aren’t attracted to that homeless look, sweet pup.”
“There’s that motherly love everyone told me about,” a wry voice replied. “Great to see what I’ve been missing.”
The other person laughed heartily, pulling me further from sleep.
I blinked awake, gazing up at the ceiling as I slowly took stock of myself. The pain in my head... was gone.
No ache. No agony. No feeling like my very thoughts were falling out of a hole in my head, or that a thick metal spike was making that hole. Only a faint and bearable throbbing behind my eyes proved there ever was a pain.
Rising up, I probed deeper, poking through the warm, sacred place within my soul where my wolf lived.
She snarled, snapping at me for waking her up, and I retreated with a snort. Oh yeah, she’s fine.
I rose up on my elbows, finding myself lying in an infirmary bed loaded down with blankets. On the other side of the room, Nyx sat at a small table covered with herbs and vials and a still steaming pot of something that smelled vile. But he wasn’t paying attention to any of it. He was too busy talking to someone on video chat.