I came rushing back out of Tag's suite, his massive medical bag in hand. I hadn't heard that kind of terror in his voice in a very long time. The last had been when he'd been struggling with his nightmares. I would do just about anything to keep from hearing it again. Not to mention the fact that it was concerning Hols. I couldn't lose her. We'd just found her. If I had to lock her in one of our rooms until she finally figured out that we weren't going to toss her aside, I'd be willing to do that. Listening to her thoughts as she sat on top of Thane's new gargantuan body had been like having her shove knives into my eyeballs. Into my heart. She didn't know how we felt about her. Hell, how could she? Unless I was mistaken, none of us had shared anything of our emotions. Only the cravings of our bodies. I wasn't going to let a little thing like pride keep me from pronouncing my intentions. My pride could go jump off a fucking bridge. Fuck, saying I wanted Hols and that I'd
Torrential rain pounded against the glass. I let out the breath I'd been holding. Thank the stars it wasn't more gods and flaming goddesses. As lightning lit the black skies overhead, a shot of power burst through the room. As if I were walking outside in the storm, I felt the crackling electricity of it surge through me as it raised every hair on my body. I gasped as I felt the wounds on my body close and the pain slide away like water down the window panes. Tag and Tove jerked me to my feet and crushed me between them. Another crash of lightning and magic pulsed through the air as I reached out for Thane. As my hand landed on his scales, the room lit up like it was high noon instead of the dark of a storm. My eyes were blinded for a brief moment. Bright stars flickered in my vision as I blinked rapidly. When my sight was finally clear, there was Thane. Naked. Human. Hunger in his eyes. He pulled me from the sandwich his brothers had made of me and up into his arms. I s
"Bring her back," Thane yelled."She's having a flashback, you idiot. You know from my history that we have to wait it out," Tag snarled back. "Get her tucked in, turn the lights off, and leave her alone. She'll come back when her brain is ready."Thane helped maneuver our girl under the covers of his bed. We made sure to pull up the blankets so nothing was tucked too tight around her body, just in case.I climbed off the bed. Looming over her while terror etched its way across her face made me feel even worse than I'd thought possible. We kept screwing up with her. By accident, granted. But that was twice now in less than an hour that her mind had turned traitor.I was sick of it. Sick of hurting her feelings-even without meaning to. Sick of seeing the heartache and sorrow on her face-even if we weren't the direct cause. She should be loved, cherished, treated like a princess. Stopping at the door, I waited while Tag and Thane fussed around her. Seeing her lying there withi
I came back to myself in the dark. A soft beam of light came from the side of the room. It was also fully black outside. Rain still beat against the wall of windows, but it was softer. Slower.As if the weather had learned my mood, read my memories, it commiserated with me. It wept as I had wept that day. No tears had washed me clean. Nothing but the love from the man, the men, I'd crashed into. Barreled into their lives as if I were a gale, and they were the innocent trees of my forest.I was in the giant bed. Alone. Were all beds this comfy?"Hello?"The room was empty except for me. The bathroom light was on. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of Thane doing that so I wouldn't wake in the complete black. He'd watched out for me ever since that first night.Hello? I called out with my mind.Three knocks sounded on the bedroom door."Who is it?" I asked, even knowing who stood outside. My men. The knob turned, but the door didn't move. "Thane, sweet girl. Tag and Tove
I curled my arms around her tighter. She'd not waited, not faltered in her movements to hug me. To touch me. That, more than any words she could've said, showed me that she didn't hold me responsible for the pain I'd brought her. She'd touched each of us. Touched our hearts. Our lives. I just hoped we could be just as good for her. We sat there in a huddle on my bed. Everyone lost in their own thoughts. The weighty silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. If anything, I felt like it had been a long time in coming. From a young age, my brothers and I worked to stay busy. To keep our minds distracted. Our bodies occupied so the loss didn't swamp us. Our mother and sister had been the lights of our lives. They had been our people. When they'd been taken from us, ripped callously from our lives, we'd been left adrift in the raging waters of a tempestuous storm. No anchor. No port. Nothing. "Well, isn't this a touching little scene?" a man's voice came from the doorway. We
I blinked as I tried to figure out what was happening. My father was in the room. He'd just shoved his magic into my body, causing me the most horrific pain I'd ever experienced-which he said wasn't supposed to hurt, and now he wants to train me to take down his brother. Could my life get any weirder?"If you're so strong and powerful, why don't you just take him out?" Tove asked. "Why do you need the help from a daughter you refuse to acknowledge?"I jolted back at the stab of a different kind of pain. I'd never known my father. My mother had only mentioned him a couple of times as I was growing up. She'd always been kind when she mentioned him. Never a bad word to say about who he was. Over the years, bringing him up had caused her great pain and heartache. Since he wasn't there, and I had been, I'd learned to keep my mouth shut. She was mine. Not his. I would protect her to the best of my ability. We'd had each other. We hadn't needed anyone else. Until I'd killed her. I w
"Finally," Sidney said as I moved into the living room. "I didn't realize someone raised in the forest would take so long getting dressed. We've already wasted so much time." He dusted his hands off. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes. With a big push of his palms to the outer sides of the room, all the furniture slid silently to the walls. Even the rug that covered most of the hardwood floors rolled itself up and leaned itself in the corner. He opened his eyes again, a bright smile on his face. He nodded. "Excellent. Now, let's begin." He shoved his palms in my direction. Some of the markings on his chest glowed softly. I raised my arms as I tried to brace myself for the pain he'd inflicted earlier. I clenched my eyes closed, held my breath. When nothing happened, I peeked around my arms. He was glaring at me like I was the village idiot.That title had never been bestowed on me, thankfully. But Zee and I had gotten along. If I'd had any friend in the Village, it
I looked around. This wasn't like the other places I'd been. Those dark holes had been fathomless voids. Nothing could touch me there. No nightmares. No fantasies.No. This time it was different.I blinked a few times, tried to make sense of what I was seeing. As my surroundings came into focus, I could tell it wasn't dark at all. It was full of light. An odd blue-tinged white that was both comforting and energizing. Trickles of power soaked into my body as rivulets ran over my skin. I inhaled and the air smelled of hope and bright summer mornings. I lay in that comfort for moments on end. "You must be waking now, lass. No time to dally or dawdle," a husky feminine voice said. I opened my eyes again and looked around. Outlined in a silvery glow, a dark haired, fair skinned woman stood off to my right. Her even and pleasant features reminded me of my mother although they looked nothing alike. I sat up, felt whatever I was laying on dip and sway under my weight. I spread