Chapter 19
SKYLAR
Landon’sjust as handsome as ever.
His defined jawline, kind warm eyes, and perfectly styled brown hair make my stomach flutter. He’s in a fitted white button-up shirt, jeans, and a slim, grey tie.
My mouth waters just looking at him.
My body may still be fragile, but my inner Omega is wide awake and ready to pounce.
Even if I can’t stand up properly.
I was so consumed with need last night that I didn’t even bother to talk to River about things that mattered—like how the investigations were going, or if there are any signs of April.
At the thought of my friend, my smile fades and my stomach twists.
Landon notices immediately. “Sit down,” he says as I follow him into the kitchen. “Let me do this for you. Just tell me what you’d like to eat,” he adds, a hint of a command in his voice.
It’s easy to obey Landon, and I make my way over to the couch. I wrap myself in the cream throw, soaking in the warmth as I try to decide what sounds appetizing.
But my mind keeps flitting back to my friend.
“Food first,” Landon adds, as if reading my mind. “Then we’ll talk.”
He cocks an eyebrow slightly, as if daring me to argue with him.
“Fine,” I huff. “Cereal is fine.”
He smirks. “I know for a fact you don’t like cereal,” he says, leaning against my kitchen island with his arms crossed.
I gape at him. “Is that so? And what makes you say that?” I demand, embarrassed he called me on my bluff.
He cocks his head slightly. “Because the only box of cereal you had was unopened and expired a year ago.”
I huff and roll my eyes.
“Don’t lie to me, Miss Bloom,” he says, amused. “You know I can always tell.”
Damn him.
But it’s hard to argue when Landon gifts me one of his dimpled smiles, and I cave in and request an omelet.
I was hungrierthan I thought.
Landon sits a respectable distance from me, watching from the opposite end of the couch as I enjoy the best breakfast I’ve ever had. He sips his coffee, eyeing me with a pleased little grin on his face.
“You’re so full of yourself,” I say in between bites.
“I can’t help if I’m a perfectionist,” he quips. “I have no interest in giving you anything but the best.”
I freeze, and he notices.
“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he sighs. “That’s not my intention. I’ll stop saying those things, if you’d like.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that,” I whisper. “I’m still not used to all this. You, River, and Vincent.” I motion to the soft blanket wrapped around me. “The little things you’ve done to make me feel safe and welcomed. It’s overwhelming, and it can be hard for me to accept after everything.”
He nods and looks away, his gaze focusing on the coffee table in front of us. “When you…disappeared,” he says stiffly, “something shifted in me, permanently. As if my very existence is now tied to you.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded.
That only happens with a mating bite.
Doesn’t it?
“And I know that might be strange to hear, since we’re not bonded,” he adds, “but...there’s a pull to you that I can’t ignore. So, the bare minimum to me is making you a simple breakfast or providing you with a soft nesting blanket.”
I blink.
“And I’m sorry,” he continues before I can say anything, “that I couldn’t find you sooner.” His voice cracks and he turns to me, guilt in his expression. “It was something simple that I overlooked. I could have…I should have?—”
“Landon. Don’t,” I say, my voice wavering.
“Regardless, it will never happen again,” he says solemnly. “I swear to you, Skylar.”
I don’t realize I’m crying until I can feel the tears drip down my cheeks. “You can’t promise that,” I say.
But Landon shakes his head. “I can, and I will,” he vows, his voice low. “If anyone tries to hurt you again, they won’t succeed.”
It’s not that I don’t believe him.
But after everything that’s happened, I’m not sure he should make that promise.
I don’t want to be a burden. I almost say the words out loud but know he won’t listen.
I place my plate on the coffee table before I let tears fall into my food.
Landon’s words haunt me.
You don’t deserve this, an inner voice whispers. He shouldn’t sacrifice his time for you.
“Sweetheart.”
Landon’s voice is soft, his eyes tender as he looks at me. “Sit with me. Breathe with me.”
It’s another soft command. I lean back against the cushion of the couch, exhaling sharply.
He moves minutely closer to me, still respectfully giving me space.
“One more time, sweetheart. Inhale slowly.”
I suck in a deep breath, allowing his calming scent of earthy woods to fill me.
“You’ve always smelled like home,” I murmur. “Even the first time I scented you. It felt like I was coming back to a place I’d been before.”
When I meet his gaze, his pupils are huge.
“I’m not leaving you,” he croaks. Slowly enough that I could push him away if I wanted, he reaches out to take my hand. Our fingers intertwine as his palm engulfs mine, and I sigh at the contact.
I take another breath in, allowing my body to relax.
Landon squeezes my hand tighter.
“May I…” He clears his throat. “May I hold you?”
A smile spreads across my face. “Of course.”
Landon, with his quiet strength, brings my heart back to life.
I’m in his arms in an instant, and he gently cradles the back of my head as I lean into his muscled chest, his purr rumbling.
He strokes my hair, fingers catching the tangles in the strands as I hum contentedly against his chest.
He presses a kiss to my hair. “I love that sound,” he whispers. “The sound of your happiness.”
His arms tighten around me as I drift in and out of sleep.
“Breathe, my love,” he whispers. “Breathe for me.”
My love.
I take a deep breath in. Then out.
Pine. Forest. Warmth.
I move my head to nuzzle my face into his neck, rubbing his scent on me.
His grip on me stiffens as my fingers fiddle with his tie.
I didn’t realize how much I missed the simple things.
Tugging on River’s scruffy hair. Messing with Landon’s tie.
Things I never thought I would do again.
I breathe Landon in, greedily inhaling his scent like it might be the last time I ever do it.
I commit it to memory as his purr increases, the vibrations relaxing every muscle in my body.
At some point, my eyes must close, because suddenly, I’m not with Landon anymore.
I’m in a room with April.
She’s on a dirty mattress,her hair matted and skin pale from lack of sunlight and blood loss.
Her eyes are wide and focused on me, her cracked lips open in a silent scream.
Male laughter comes from the other room.
I fall to my knees on the dirty carpet and let out a sob.
“Find me,” she croaks out. “He knows where I am.”
“Who?” I whisper, crawling toward her, her watery eyes tracking my movements. “Who knows?”
But she just stares and stares, and the door behind us opens.
I scream.
“Skylar?”Landon’s frantic eyes jolt me back to reality, and I sit up in his lap, startled.
My heart won’t stop racing, and the air feels too heavy to breathe.
“Sweetheart, what?—”
“He knows where she is,” I breathe.
Landon blinks, confusion on his perfect features. “Who?”
“April,” I whisper. “He…he told me he would tell me where she is,” I choke out. “But he never…”
My throat closes up.
I’ve barely thought about my best friend since I left the hospital.
Instead of telling River what John had told me, I welcomed him into my bed and sought my own pleasure.
Selfish.
What if I had told River last night?
A high-pitched whine echoes throughout the room, and it takes a moment for me to realize the sound is coming from my own mouth.
“Skylar. Skylar.” Landon’s essence washes over me as he cups my face, his eyes burning into mine. “Hold on to my voice. Hold on to this.”
I don’t know how he recognizes what’s happening to me, but I’m grateful he does.
It feels like I’m back in that room again, dreading every time the door would open.
How it felt to have the needles pierce the same spot on the inside of my arm.
The dizziness and confusion.
All the same things April is going through.
“I’m here,” he breathes, his dark brown eyes full of compassion. “Sweetheart, I’m here. We’ll get through this.”
We. Not you.
It takes a few minutes for me to calm down, but once my heartbeat is back to normal, Landon speaks.
“He had April’s apron,” Landon says softly as my chest tightens. “And he’s been questioned, but we don’t have any other information besides that.”
I frown. “He didn’t tell you anything?” I whisper, my hope fading.
Landon shakes his head. “Not yet,” he says. “But Skylar, there is something I need to talk to you about.”
I move out of his lap, but he takes my hand and intertwines our fingers. “You need to give a statement,” Landon says gently.
I hold my breath.
I knew I would have to eventually tell the police everything that had happened.
But retelling it will be a nightmare.
Describing that room, the itchiness of my fake nest, the smell…
“Ben will take the statement,” Landon adds. “You won’t have to talk to anyone you don’t know. Or you can request someone else.”
I swallow nervously.
I know I need to do this.
Every bit of information I can give them is valuable, but reliving it seems too much to bear.
And sweet, patient Landon just squeezes my hand, as if he can hear every thought. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m more sorry than you’ll ever know that I couldn’t find you sooner.”
I’m frozen.
The urge to tell him no is strong. I don’t want to do this; I want to crawl back into my nest and pretend the last month didn’t happen.
I’m halfway to saying no when there’s a loud knock at my door.
I jump halfway off the couch while Landon furrows his brow.
“It’s Vincent,” he murmurs in surprise at the same time Vincent’s scent hits me.
Dark notes of chocolate, brandy, and the slightest hint of leather.
Excitement races through me.
I knew he was coming, but I didn’t know when.
“Why is he here?” I breathe.
I’m anxious, remembering the last conversation I had with him.
Landon shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he murmurs. “He’s not supposed to take watch until tomorrow.”
My mind races.
Vincent’s scent grows stronger and my mouth waters involuntarily.
Knock. Knock.
“I need to tell you something,” I blurt to Landon, and he raises an eyebrow. “Before I let him in. The timing is bad, but my Heat is coming soon. And…I want you and River with me.”
A small smile tugs at the corner of Landon’s mouth. “Whatever you need,” he says. “Whatever you want.”
It wasn’t the ideal time to tell him, but I didn’t know when I would have him alone again, especially with Vincent appearing.
My heart pounds rapidly as I approach the door.
As my eyes lock with Vincent’s, something inside me fundamentally changes.
Mine, an inner voice says.
He’s mine.