Chapter 23 #2
I’d looked back, hoping to catch one last glimpse to reassure myself it wasn’t all some fanciful concoction of a desperate mind, but the wall had returned to metal and stone, then the darkness came.
I shivered despite myself, still unsettled about the way the night had seemed to swallow us whole.
Rational logic reminded me that no witch held anything like that in their repertoire, but the alternative was just as unfathomable.
A glance towards the overlarge bed had me tempted once again to slide beneath the sheets where I’d squirreled away the shirt I’d worn earlier.
Traces of Josh’s sweet, earthy scent still clung to the fabric, and I longed to be enveloped by the comfort once more.
I shook my head to dispel the temptation.
Restless energy ran amok in my body. I’d find no sleep, only nightmares. Finally, I gave it up and dialed out.
“I’ll have you know, the smell of that portal is still burning my moonforsaken nose.” Even though he was complaining, the sound of Eric’s voice was a welcome relief.
“Maybe one of these days you’ll learn to keep your nose to yourself.”
He snorted and ignored the taunt. “So, did you get to see him?”
Just like that, I was back in the sparse cell, holding Josh’s face while he stared at me in surprise.
“See him, touch him. Hell, I even managed to kiss him.” The kiss had been hot and needy, desperate to rekindle a connection strained by time and distance.
It had been far too short, but there simply hadn’t been time for anything else.
“And? Do you feel better?” Eric prodded when I was quiet for too long.
“Yes. No.”
“Well, that’s about as clear as mud.”
I shook my head, even though there was no way he could see me.
“You should have seen him, Eric. He looked awful, like a wraith. Dark circles under his eyes, hair a mess, haunted gaze.” I shuddered.
“Not to mention it looks like he hasn’t been eating.
I was amazed he had the energy to stand at all.
What are they doing to him? He almost looked like he was…
” I couldn’t finish the thought. It was too horrible to entertain.
Besides, if Josh truly was wasting away—dying—I would know. Right?
Perhaps it had been too much to hope that the bond would sustain him more.
“I imagine he looked a lot like you did before you started spending more time with the pack.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Red, you looked like freaking death. Why do you think I was so adamant about getting you out of the house?”
“I didn’t… I had no…” It would be a lie to say I hadn’t suspected as much.
After all, I’d been the one to tell Josh what would happen to bonded pairs kept apart for too long.
All the things I’d tried so hard to ignore came at me in a guilty rush.
“Shit. He’s been all alone. I’ve had you and the others, but he’s had no one.
Just like he’s had no one his whole life.
And there’s no telling what they’ve done to him.
He just sits in that box, discarded by a world too busy to care, and has no one. ”
“Easy, Red.” Eric’s low words of warning only highlighted how quick my breathing had become, how my pulse raced with each shallow breath.
“He’s supposed to have me. How could I not be there for him? I promised always. But I’m not there. And he’s all alone. I should have stayed. I shouldn’t have let him go. This is all my fault. He’ll die in there and I’ll be out here. And… and…” I gasped for air that just as quickly escaped.
“Deep breath, man. You freaking out isn’t going to help Josh. Focus on something else. You got to see him. You got to hold him. There is actually going to be a trial. Did he sign the paper?”
I let out a shaky lungful of air. “Yeah.”
“Did you end up telling him what it was?”
“No. Serves him right too for duping me into signing all those legal documents before he was taken.” It was a tad petty, but it brought me an odd sense of joy nonetheless, though perhaps it had more to do with the fact that Josh trusted me as much as I trusted him.
Even bonded, trust wasn’t something that came easily to a man like Joshua Hart.
“You have to be the only guy I know who could be legitimately upset that their partner is worth a fortune.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that’s not why I’m upset?
I’m mad because… You know what? Forget it.
I’m not having this argument with you again.
” I caught the distinct sound of a muffled snicker on the other end and rolled my eyes.
Of course the cheeky bastard was pleased with his distraction; he wasn’t the one who’d been handed an outrageous wealth due to the imminent demise of his loved one.
“How are things there? Has anyone caught on yet?”
“All I’ve got to say is it’s a damn good thing we’re not held to the same restrictions as your man.
I’ve been lying through my teeth nonstop for the last twenty-four hours.
You want to know if anyone has noticed you’re gone?
Yes, literally everyone. Thankfully, no one thinks your dumb-ass excuse of giving a presentation at your alma mater is worth digging into. ”
“It’s not an excuse. It’s an alibi.”
“In order for it to be an alibi, you actually have to do the thing you say you’re doing,” Eric countered.
“Who says I’m not?” I fired right back.
“Now you sound like the detective.”
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“Shut up.”
“You called me.” He had me there.
“In all seriousness, though, thank you.”
“For what?” Genuine curiosity replaced the teasing in Eric’s voice.
“For distracting me. As good as it was to see Josh, I didn’t expect him to look so haggard, and I still don’t know how I actually managed to leave.” I rubbed as my chest and wondered what beneath the moon could be so powerful as to inhibit the bond.
“Being there for you is what Be… Brothers are for.”
Now it was my turn to snicker. “You were totally going to say Betas.”
“Was not.”
“Were to.” Falling into the familiar pattern of friendly banter was as easy as it had always been with Eric. In many ways, he really was my brother, if not by blood. “You just can’t wait to be at the top of the pecking order.”
“Not the top-top, that’s gonna be your headache.”
“Yeah yeah.” I rubbed my temple as if in anticipation of the aforementioned ache. “You know, you still have to fight for the position.”
“Pft. Forget the fact that you’re implying someone might actually beat me, who would challenge?”
“I imagine Remus would be willing to make a run at it.”
“What?” Eric’s strangled question had me biting back a laugh.
“Good night, Eric. Thanks again.”
“Don’t you dare hang up! What’s this business about Remus?”
“Really should get some rest.”
“What about Remus?!” Eric’s panicked shout was the last thing I heard before I cut the call. Mean as it was, I couldn’t help but give my friend a hard time. He’d spent most of our lives preparing to be my second in command, with never a consideration of opposition.
I smiled to myself. There wasn’t really a reason for him to be so concerned. After all, if there could be two Alphas, why couldn’t there be two Betas to match? Of course, that assumed any of us lived long enough to find out if two Alphas really could rule the same pack.