Chapter 25 Allie
ALLIE
“Stay here while I clean up this mess.” Mass stands in the door to our bedroom. I sit at the edge of the bed, rubbing my palms together.
“Who was that man? Really, Mass, what was he doing there?”
“No more questions. You’ve gone too far now, Allie. You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“He knows me. How does he know me?”
“No more,” Mass nearly snarls. I flinch back in surprise. I’ve never seen him this angry before, much less at me.
Without a word, he storms off, slamming the door behind him.
“Wait!” I jump up and go after him. I try to open it, but the door is locked tight. I test the handle and turn the knob, but nothing works. “Mass, wait! Bring me Rosie at least! Please, don’t keep me in here!”
I pound on the door. I keep slamming it until my fist hurts. I finally give up, exhausted, angry, and confused.
I can’t believe he’d throw me in here and lock the door like I’m a prisoner.
But I’ve always been one. I got used to the comfort and safety of the Fortress. I even got used to being with Mass.
I forgot that he kidnapped me from my own wedding.
What kills me most is keeping me from Rosie.
I sink down onto the floor at the foot of the bed and stare at the door.
Tears roll down my cheeks. It’s unfathomably cruel to keep me from my daughter.
I have horrible thoughts that she might not be safe, that someone might hurt her to get back at me for breaking the rules, that they might take her somewhere far away—
This is the Dragon I always expected.
And somehow, seeing Mass live up to the reputation is only a disappointment.
I thought maybe he’d be different with me. Up until now, he’s been gentle. Loving even. Obsessed, but in a good way. I was craving his attention. I still do.
But leaving me locked in this room without Rosie is torture.
I try talking to Lady, but the house AI doesn’t respond. All I get is a curt, “Voice signature denied.” And nothing after that.
I don’t know how much time passes. Maybe only a few minutes or maybe a few hours. But eventually, the door unlocks with an audible click. I’m on my feet as it opens and Lucy comes inside carrying Rosie in her arms.
I run over and take my daughter. Rosie’s perfectly happy and totally unharmed. She squirms as I kiss her and cry, telling her I’ll never let anyone take her from me ever again, but she has no idea what I’m talking about.
“Thank you for bringing her to me,” I say, letting Rosie crawl onto the floor beside me. She pulls herself up and starts to cruise around the edge of the bed. I wipe my face, trying to gather myself together.
Lucy stays near the door. “How did you find him?”
“Bad luck.”
“Do you know who he is?”
“I didn’t at first, but he told me.”
She nods slowly. I can’t tell if she’s unhappy. It’s more like she’s curious. “I told him we should’ve kept her from you for longer. But he was insistent that I bring her here.”
I pull back, staring. “That’s disgusting.”
She shrugs and looks at her phone. “It’s about the least disgusting thing I’ve authorized today, actually, but feel how you want to feel. Mass has a soft spot for you, even still.” Her eyes flip up to mine. “Despite everything.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“The man in that room is valuable. You have no idea how valuable he is.”
I say nothing. I only glare at her. This woman wanted to keep Rosie from me just to punish me for breaking some unspoken rule. I shouldn’t have gone into that room, but that’s no excuse for abject cruelty.
Lucy leaves. The door locks behind her. Having Rosie here with me eases some of the tension a little bit. At least I know she’s safe for now.
But I start to spiral.
What if Mass decides I can’t be trusted?
He’s been hiding the missing Dragon all this time. That’s an enormous secret. The five Dragons aren’t exactly enemies, but they rarely work together.
It’s unheard of for one to protect another.
Dragon power works because the position is held only by the strong. I can understand why Elias feels like he can’t go back out into the world. Whatever happened in Medved’s attack clearly nearly broke him.
But what does Mass get out of this? Why keep Elias around at all? Mass could kill the old man and install one of his own people in the position instead. Heck, even Lucy could step into the role. She’d make a good Dragon, and there have been female Dragons before.
Instead, he’s protecting Elias.
I try to distract myself with Rosie. She’s in a good mood at least, but the longer we’re trapped in the bedroom, the more likely it is she’ll get hungry or need to be changed. All her things are in the nursery and all her favorite pouches are in the kitchen.
But we’re not left alone for long. The door unlocks again and Mass comes inside. He doesn’t close it behind him, but he stands between me and the exit. He stares, his face cold and distant, and I want to scream at him for this.
How could he lock me up again? How could he drag me out of that room?
Why the hell is he hiding a damn Dragon?
“Massie!” Rosie stumbles from the bed. I stare in horror and pure joy as she releases herself from her cruising and takes three steps toward Mass, teetering the whole way.
She stumbles. Of course she does. These are her first steps. Pride, excitement, and terror swell, and I can’t make myself move as she pitches forward.
Mass catches her. He reaches out and snatches her before she can hit the floor.
He’s laughing as he hoists her into the air, tossing her up once and catching her.
Rosie snuggles against him, grinning like a maniac and laughing too, and then I’m on my feet, smiling despite everything. I reach out, and Mass hands Rosie over.
“Good job, little girl,” I say, hugging her tightly. “Oooooh, I’m so proud of you!” She squirms, giggling, clearly not aware of what’s going on until I finally put her down.
She goes back to cruising.
The tension leaks from the room. Mass comes over and sits on the edge of the bed. Slowly, I get up and join him. Our knees are touching, and his shoulders are hunched. I can tell this is weighing on him heavily.
“Elias told me what you two spoke about.”
“Is that where you were?”
He nods tightly. “I had to be sure.”
“Sure about what?”
A painful emotion flashes across his face.
He doesn’t respond directly to my question.
“Elias has been in my life for a very long time. We met when I was on the verge of becoming what I am now. He didn’t help me back then, but he also didn’t stand in my way when I killed the previous Dragon and took his power for my own.
We formed something like a partnership after that, but he was in the middle of his own struggle against Medved.
When that went south, I stepped in and saved Elias, but he’d been…
” He trails off, frowning deeply, shoulders hunched.
“I saw him. He lost his legs.” I tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry your friend got hurt.”
He looks up sharply. For a second, I think he’s mad.
But then he only nods wearily. “You’re right.
My friend.” He lets out a breath. “Elias has been running his operation from here ever since that happened. If anyone found out, he’d become a target.
A weak Dragon is a vulnerable Dragon. Elias is still clever and sharp, but he struggles physically most days.
It isn’t only his legs he lost. So much of his vitality was sapped away.
He sleeps for hours, sometimes days. It’s a miracle he’s still with us.
He’s simply too frail to go anywhere else. ”
I pull my hand away from him. Mass lapses into silence again. The tension and weight are still there, and I’m still angry with him for locking me in here and keeping Rosie away, but at least I’m starting to understand.
Elias is important to him. And Elias is extremely fragile.
Mass is going to extreme lengths to keep his friend safe and alive.
That’s why he reacted the way he did with me.
I don’t love it, but at least it was for a good reason.
“You know I’d never hurt him.” I surprise myself by meaning it. I don’t know Elias at all, but I can see that he means something to Mass. I’d protect him, if only to keep Mass from suffering. “His secret is safe with me.”
“I want to believe that.” He looks at me hard, his face filled with longing. “Elias wants to talk to you again. I’m afraid that’s not a good idea.”
“What could go wrong?”
“A lot of things. There are other aspects of our relationship I haven’t told you about.”
My heart flutters. “Like what?”
“He made me promise to let him tell you.” Mass sighs and slowly gets to his feet. “Do you want to hear it, Allie? The whole truth? The full story? You’re not going to like it.”
My mouth goes dry. I glance at Rosie and scoop her up into my arms. I can’t leave her behind this time, but I also can’t run from this. It’s clearly too important.
“I’ll talk to him.”
Mass nods, looking grim and hard. “Just know I did it for good reasons. I never planned for this.” I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t.
Instead, Lucy shows up, and she nods for me to follow her.