Chapter 28
Cameron
I’m going to kill him.
That weaselly, weak-spined, too-smiley monster won’t keep his hands off Ronan, and I’m trapped in this cage while I watch him touch what’s mine.
The reasonable side of me understands Ronan has to play a part or else he’ll be stuck fighting an entire crew of monsters on his own. I’m locked up, and I’m self-aware enough to realize that I wouldn’t be an asset even if I wasn’t in this cage. It doesn’t squash the rage that’s boiling inside my body, though.
Doesn’t stop the unreasonable side of me from wanting to kill him, too, for allowing Khuth to touch what doesn’t belong to him.
A brown glass bottle passes between them, and my fingers squeeze around the bars as Khuth’s filthy hands settle on Ronan’s hip a second time. Those dark eyes land on mine, and even from this distance, I can feel the guilt in them .
“Fuck,” I groan, letting my head thunk against the side of the cage.
Murder is off the table, then.
For him, at least.
For the hundredth time, I search for another way to escape, but night has fallen and there are no lanterns nearby. Why would they waste light on a prisoner, after all? It’s too dark to see anything beyond vague shapes and colors, so I stop straining my eyes and try to use my brain.
Khuth leads Ronan into his tent, neither of them bothering to look my direction. Ugly, unwanted thoughts hammer my mind, each one twisting my stomach into a tight, painful knot.
What if he decides this is too much trouble?
What if he’s going in there for a quick meaningless fuck while he can use this as an excuse?
What if, after everything , he leaves?
What if you were never worth staying for?
Images of Ronan’s sculpted, naked body play like a reel before me, taunting eyes on mine as he thrusts into Khuth, while his hands roam skin that isn’t mine. Adoration is replaced with a mocking sneer, any traces of affection erased from his expression. Those soft planes of his face are hard once again.
It’s poison as it steals my breath—bitter acid that corrodes my insides as it spreads.
In that moment, it’s all so real.
The shredding of my flesh as he rips my heart out. The dampness of the ground soaking my jeans as I fall to my knees and beg him to come back to me. The desperation in my voice when I tell him it doesn’t matter, that it's okay... that I’ll forgive him if he’ll just stay.
The crunch of tires as he drives away, and the screaming silence of abandonment.
Pitiful.
Pathetic.
brOKEN.
He could do so much better than you.
Tears flood my eyes as the voices that have been quiet for so long speak up again, blaring inside my head until it feels as though it might explode with the pressure. “Stop it,” I mutter to myself, trying to rub away the pain in my chest. The insecurities I’ve been ignoring so well spin like a venomous web in my mind, and I fight against the toxic thoughts.
He loves me.
Ronan loves me .
He loves me… he loves me.
He does.
He promised
Memories push to the forefront of my mind, images of the sincerity in his eyes as we clung to each other in the forest. And his words…
They left me as nothing more than ruins, surrounded by a pile of useless wreckage. Piece by piece, he took that rubble and rebuilt this damaged heart. It’s sewed up and patched, a piecework of everything life has thrown at me, but it’s whole.
And it’s his.
He loves me.
One breath after another brings me back to the present, and slowly, the grip on my throat loosens. I’ve barely gotten the panic under control when a noise makes my head whip towards the obscurity surrounding my cage. Footsteps in the dark give me pause, and the moonless night causes fear to creep in, crawling beneath my skin as I stare off into the nothingness. My worries take a backseat as the crunch of grass moves closer, my hair standing on end with the awareness of being watched.
“Such a pretty little caged bird,” a throaty voice says, and I turn towards the sound as a body materializes from the shadows. Scales reflect the dim lighting, the color of a midnight sky. He flashes me a threatening smile, his eyes and razor-blade teeth shining with an unnatural luminescence against the darkness. “Do you think we can make it sing?”
Another monster appears beside him, the lanky one that had been in the backseat of the car. His pale, pinkish-tan skin is unremarkable; you’d walk behind him on the street and never give him a second glance. Sure, his limbs are a little… stretched, but it’s nothing inhuman. But if he turned around…
Well, the three eyeballs certainly betray him.
I tuck myself into the furthest corner as their eyes—all five of them—rake over my frame. “I’ll make you sing real pretty, little bird,” the dark one taunts, a barbed tail whipping behind him. As he reaches into his pocket, I realize he has a key. My mind clears, shoving my anxiety into a box to be dealt with later as an idea starts to form.
Maybe this is my ticket out of here.
Sure, they’re a lot bigger than me, but they seem kind of dumb.
“Oh, please no,” I whimper, pushing as much panic into my voice as I can muster. “Just… just let me stay in here until it’s time for us to leave. ”
“Leave?” The tall one nudges the other. “He still thinks they’re leaving.”
“You know what we do to traitors and deserters around here, birdie?” I wait to respond, because honestly? I’m kind of curious about his idea of punishment and torture. Might be a learning experience for me.
Using his unnaturally long arm, he reaches into the cage, and even as I hurl myself against the opposite side, he fists my jacket and yanks me forward. I manage to throw my hands up in time to stop my face from taking the impact, but cry out as my forearm hits the iron with enough force to jar my bones. “No idea,” I grit out, “but I bet it’s fucking gross.”
His other hand reaches through and fists my hair as he releases a slimy chuckle, and next thing I know, my cheek is pressed against the bars. He shoves his nose against my skin and takes a deep inhale as I thrash, trying to pull away. “Your fear is delicious, human,” he purrs, and I snarl as his tongue unrolls from his mouth, sickeningly long. He drags it up my cheek as I fight harder in vain, his rancid breath hot on my face.
“Let go of me,” I growl, and he laughs, more disgusting heat puffing from his mouth.
“Why don’t you make me?” His fist tightens in my hair to the point I hear individual strands begin to rip from my scalp, and for the first time, true panic bleeds into my body.
The night is pierced by a whisper-thin, metallic slice, a sound so faint it’s nearly lost to the silence. Everything is motionless, a snapshot of this moment in time, until the dark-scaled monster's body crumbles, his head suspended in the air .
The monster holding on to me whines in submission and releases me, scrambling away as the scent of ammonia burns my nostrils. “Dear gods,” he whimpers. “We have been forsaken.”
Ronan emerges from the shadows, death personified. Fingers woven through the decapitated monster’s hair, he holds the head aloft while his bleeding sword drips onto the dirt below. An awareness, ancient and instinctual, shoots through my veins as our eyes lock. My hair prickles and stands on end, every nerve ending screaming as I drink in the harsh angles of his face and the unnerving depth in his stare.
“Ro?” I breathe, my gaze flicking between the huge, glistening fangs protruding from his mouth and the vicious claws on his fingers, each stained a deep, dark red. His body is larger, twisted , and inky veins streak his flesh, a cursed lightning under his skin. Barbed tails, razor-sharp and corded, fan behind him, waving back and forth in a motion that feels like a taunt. Black as a bottomless pool, his eyes are unblinking as he stares at me, checking if I’m hurt as the head thuds to the ground, forgotten.
He’s more monstrous than I’ve ever seen him.
Terrifying and breathtaking, wicked and beautiful.
Mine .
For a moment that stretches into an eternal second, his eyes search mine. They dig through the clouds in my mind, searching for the answer to the silent question he’s asking.
Am I too much?
“You’re perfect,” I whisper, and the slow-motion world that surrounds us speeds to reality in a dizzying blur .
Ronan roars with a sound that’s pure animal, swinging his sword at the thin monster as he attempts to flee. The rocky soil kicks up a small cloud of dust as his head rolls against the cage, eyes unseeing as his useless body collapses behind him.
Frantic shouts erupt from the camp as three more rush over, and Ronan moves like he’s weightless, limbs twirling in a macabre dance. He shoves his sword straight through the heart of the first, the sole of his boot kicking the monster’s chest as he yanks his weapon free and turns to the next, a stocky monster with a sickly green skin. Metal clashes as swords meet, Ronan’s face coated in blood as a smile full of deadly promises stretches across his lips.
Moonlight gleams off Ronan’s fangs as he feigns left, darting in the other direction before he slices his blade along the side of the monster’s neck. With a gurgling shriek that tears through the air, the green monster slams his palm against the wound. Blood spurts between his fingers, hot and dark, and far too much for him to contain.
Wide, pleading eyes meet mine, and a silent cry for help echoes in their depths. I smile, just as monstrous as my mate, leaning closer to the cage bars so he can hear my voice. “You deserve this.” The final spark of hope fades when he realizes no one is coming for him.
There are no saviors here.
My eyes find Ronan, locked in a swordfight with two monsters, as movement beyond him catches my attention. Bruk’s footsteps shake the earth as he storms over, and I recall Ronan’s words about his ferocity.
“Ro, behind you!” I shout, and he glances over his shoulder before thrusting his sword through the stomach of the monster in front of him. Teeth bared, he twists the hilt and yanks it out, swinging in a heavy arc that makes quick work of the other’s neck. It all happens in the space of a single blink.
He was toying with them, I realize.
Bruk releases a bellow full of rage and lashes out with his sword, and Ronan barely dodges in time before another swing threatens him. The leather of his armor peels back as the blade clips his shoulder, blood spilling from the tear. Ronan snarls, moving with that weightless confidence as he dances around Bruk. Every swing brings a whoosh of air as he ducks, and I realize he’s trying to wear him down.
Bruk realizes this at the same time I do, because he changes tactic and lunges, slamming his weight into Ronan’s chest. They ram into my cage with such force it skids back a few inches, knocking me on my ass.
At the sound of my pained grunt, Ronan turns to look at me, taking his focus from his opponent. My eyes widen as Bruk raises his sword, the steel gleaming in the dim light, and Ronan twists at the last second, dodging the downward swing that sends a spray of dirt flying as it pierces the earth.
Off-kilter and out of balance, Bruk is knocked from his feet as Ronan slams into him, and they both crash into a pile of thrashing limbs. “Was all this worth the life of a human?” Bruk growls, reaching for Ronan, but he’s not fast enough.
Ronan’s tail stabs through Bruk’s palm, pinning it to the ground. Bruk roars and tries to buck him off, but his shout turns pained as another tail pins his second hand. The third tail wraps around his ankles, binding his feet before that barb stabs straight through bone, the final nail .
Palms bleeding, blood coating his teeth, Bruk makes a crucifix, the ground beneath him his cross.
Fitting he’ll die on his back.
“That human is my mate,” Ronan hisses, and Bruk’s eyes grow wide before he flashes a taunting, crimson-stained grimace.
“They’ll find you. You can’t fucking hide from them.” The sounds are barely discernable, scraping their way from his throat as Ronan smiles a deadly smile. “Mark my words, they will hunt you down—” Ronan growls and snaps forward, sinking his fangs into Bruk’s neck as his voice turns to a gurgle. My eyes squeeze closed and my head jerks away, the sound of tearing flesh ringing into the now-silent night.
I peek back to find Ronan triumphant, fangs dripping with blood that cascades down his chin. A thick, wet bubble rises in Bruk’s throat with each strangled breath, his mouth opening and closing in a desperate, mute rhythm.
Ronan leans closer and pats his cheek, hitting him so hard his head flops to one side. “Yes,” he hisses as the last of his prey fades from this life. “Yes, it was worth it.” Bruk goes motionless and Ronan pants as he sits there, straddling the giant monster.
The final opponent, defeated.
“Ro?” I whisper, and he turns to me, his mauve skin gleaming with a sheen of blood, some still dripping, other parts crusted and dark. He rushes over and crashes to his knees before me, gripping the bars of my cage.
Black eyes meet mine, and the love that shines from them blasts through my earlier doubts. Even like this—even gnarled and twisted, broken just like me, those eyes tell me everything I need to hear .
They whisper of safety and protection, and sacrifice unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Peace and acceptance, and a lifetime of happiness. Forever , they promise, and I nod my answer to their silent question, reaching to cup his cheek as he nuzzles into my touch.
“Forever ,” I whisper.
A whimper comes from Khuth’s tent, and my eyes shift towards the noise. “Do not pity him. He got what he deserved and will soon be gone like the others.” The rasping cries that come from inside go quiet, and I nod.
He got what he deserved.
A key slips to the ground as Ronan digs it from his pocket, his clawed fingers clumsy as he picks it up and attempts the lock. “I… am not myself, Cameron.” Thunder booms in the distance as I place my hand over his, stopping his fumbling.
“Let me,” I whisper, and he sinks back onto his haunches, wilting. I reach through the bars and undo the padlock, thankful to stretch my legs as I step out and stand.
Ronan kneels at my feet, head bowed as he stares at his blood-stained hands. “I am a monster.” Lightning cracks across the sky as the first droplets fall from the heavens, illuminating the agony on his face that threatens to break my heart right in half.
My knees sink into the ground in front of him, endlessly black eyes finding mine in the darkness. “They were the monsters, Ronan. Not you... never you. You are amazing, and perfect, and everything I've ever wanted in life. You are mine. ” Minutes tick by as he stares, searching for the truth. I don’t look away, don’t even dare to blink.
The light sprinkling of rain turns into a downpour, drowning out everything but him. Raindrops erase the red on Ronan’s face, pinholes of his dusty purple skin appearing as he closes his eyes, looking towards the sky. Crimson-hued water cascades down his body as the violence washes away, soaking into the ground.
I take one of his hands in mine, but he rips it free, twisting away from me.
“Look at me.” His shoulders rise and fall in a few heavy breaths before he turns halfway and meets my eyes. “Please don’t hide from me.”
“I’m a monster,” he repeats, and I shake my head as I tentatively grasp his clawed hand, letting my fingertips dance over the razored points that could tear me into pieces without a second thought.
“You are brave, and beautiful, and selfless , Ronan. But above all that? You are mine . Don’t talk about my favorite person that way.” His serious facade doesn’t crack, but he doesn’t pull away this time. He doesn’t even move as I scrub the dried blood from his skin, allowing the downpour to cleanse him.
Quieter still, he says, “You saw what I can do.”
“I saw you protect me.” I lift his cleaned hand, pressing a kiss to every taloned finger. “Watched you fight those soldiers with no regard for yourself to make sure I stayed safe.” The rain pours harder as I scrub up his arm, rinsing away the battle as I kiss a line up his skin. “Saw you keep your word to never abandon me.”
Emotion burns bright on his face as I whisper, “Close your eyes.” They drift shut as I erase the last traces of blood, washing around his eyes and mouth with the pad of my thumbs. I tilt his head towards the sky, watching it all disappear back into the earth beneath us .
“I watched you love me,” I whisper, dragging my fingers over his lips and the fangs underneath them. Leaning forward, I press the gentlest of kisses against his mouth. “Out loud and fierce, and without abandon, Ronan. Others can say it, but they can’t show it—not like you can. They can’t scream it for the world to hear without ever saying a word. But you can. You did. Never apologize for being who you are… never change.”
I press another kiss to his lips as his rough breaths shake his whole body. “Ro, I love you. You know that, don’t you? You are mine, and I am yours, just like we promised. And even though it terrifies me, for the first time in my life, you have given me something stronger than the fear… something worth fighting for. Every piece of me is yours. You want to say I belong to you? Say it. Mean it. I am yours, and I will be yours as long as you’ll have me. I love you, Ronan… I love every single piece of you.”
“Even the monstrous ones?” he asks, voice thick.
“Especially those.” I tug on his neck and urge his lips to mine, and he flinches as he draws back.
He whines like a wounded animal as his heavy eyes find mine through the sheets of rain. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Eyes never leaving his, I pull my shirt over my head and grab his hand, wrapping it around my waist. My fingers cover his and curl them against my skin, letting his claws drag a slow path. “And you won’t.”
My hands are steady as I unclip his armor and slide it from his body, running my palms up his chest as the rain pelts the ground, soaking our hair until it sticks to our faces. His breathing gets heavier as I undo his pants, inching my hand lower until it wraps around his cock .
He’s beautiful as he throws his head back, fangs reflecting the faint light glowing from the lanterns. Hips rolling forward into my grip, my name leaves him on a moan. My fingers weave through his hair and guide him down until his lips are against my neck. He latches on, sucking gently as my chin lifts, giving him more room as he scrapes me with his fangs. My cock flexes in response as his hands roam over my back and lower.
A frustrated growl escapes him as he struggles with the button of my pants, finally ripping the leather open with a loud tear. “Holy fuck, that was hot,” I gasp, shrieking as he jumps to his feet and tosses me over his shoulder.