Chapter 6 #2
“I didn’t believe it at first, but…I mean, shit—with both of you coming back to life, I can’t doubt it.
I only wish I’d been part of that—meeting her.
But I’m glad that if it had to be one of us, it was him.
Anani seems…he seems better, like he got a lot of closure from it.
He took the worst of the abuse from our father, and I think a part of him always felt abandoned by our mother. ”
“I get that,” I murmured. And I did, because even though I’d been taken from my parents, I think a part of me, since finding out that Tina and Malcolm weren’t my parents, had felt a bit of anger. A hint of betrayal that someone had left me alone in the dark situation I’d grown up in.
“Marco, give them a moment.” Henry’s voice rang out from the hallway, and Ledger muttered a curse but rolled off of me. My eyes ran over him, noting that he didn’t have any injuries. I relaxed marginally as I looked at Marco.
He stood frozen in the doorway, his normally mint eyes completely black as he kept a hand on the doorframe, stabilizing himself.
The pure torment on his face was enough to level me.
I moved to get off the bed, wanting to be close to him, but in a second flat he was there, wrapping me up in his arms. His lips seared to mine in a hard kiss, enough so that I felt breathless for a moment, completely overwhelmed by everything that was my mate.
When he pulled back from the kiss, his hand slid up the back of my neck to hold me against his chest, his heart going a million miles an hour.
“I’ll never let that happen to you again, baby girl,” he promised, seething with a fury I’d yet to see from him. “You will never have to be reborn again; I don’t care what I have to do. That scared the shit out of me, Maya. The way you screamed… I’ll never mess this shit up again, I?—”
“This is not your fault,” I interrupted, pulling back and examining his face in shock.
How could he blame himself for this? His fresh vanilla and pine scent tickled my nose as I forced myself to not bury my face against his neck where my mark was—I needed to look him in the eye, to let him know without a doubt that I didn’t blame him.
Marco leaned back, and I realized that despite his obvious distress, he looked more put together than Henry or Ledger. I think it was in an attempt to maintain control, but I could see the cracks in the facade. A quake had torn open his chest, all because of his fear of losing me.
Then again, was I any different? If I ever thought I’d lost Marco, I wouldn’t be able to breathe.
“It is,” he snarled. “I let you die?—”
“You didn’t let me do anything.” I put my chin up, grasping his face between my hands to hold his tormented gaze. “I died because I refused to let Az give his life. I died because I jumped in front of Anani to try to save him from Ry. I died because I sacrificed my life, not because of you, Marco.”
His jaw clenched. “Don’t remind me. Fuck, baby girl, that was so damn reckless.”
“And I would do it a million times over,” I whispered. “Especially if it meant learning how to kill Ry. I love you. I love you, and we are going to be completely fine. I promise.”
Marco examined my expression before deflating, pressing his lips to my forehead and mumbling, “I was so damn worried you wouldn’t wake up.”
“I’ll always come back.” It was a promise and vow.
“You better.” Sai appeared in the doorway, his face filled with so much vulnerability that Marco stepped back, allowing me to go to him.
Sai wrapped me up in his arms, in a hug so tight it felt like he was squeezing the tension from my body.
I let out a small sob of relief as my hands dug into his damp curls, then pulled back to look up at him.
His burning ember eyes were darkened with so many unsaid things, but I knew we would have time when we were alone.
“You put yourself in danger like that again, kitten, and I’m going to punish you,” he growled, making me nearly smile.
I could tell he was all talk, but I still couldn’t help but rub my nose against his gently, my fingers smoothing over his chest as his dragon let out a low rumble in the back of his throat.
He was welcoming my touch, so despite being upset, I knew he wasn’t actually mad at me.
“I promise I won’t put myself in danger on purpose,” I said in an attempt at compromise. He grunted but didn’t argue, his grip simply tightening on me.
“Is Atlas coming?” I asked. He nodded, clearly not able to talk yet. “What about Az?”
Was it wrong to hope that Azrael and my mates would get along? That was silly, right? But I also could feel an important connection between Az and me, so I wanted him to be around. I didn’t want them to fight, though… What if they ended up hating one another?
I had no idea how to deal with this.
“We need to talk about Az.” Marco’s voice was filled with a dangerous amount of possession. I loved it. The darkness sparked and ran over my skin, making desire blossom in my center.
“He’s up.”
Croy’s deep southern accent had me jolting back from Sai as I looked towards my wolf mate.
The confident, normally relaxed man took a sharp inhale at seeing me, awe filling his face as he blinked, looking over me as if he couldn’t believe I was truly here.
Sai released me and I walked towards him, meeting him in the doorway and reaching up to cup his jaw.
His breathing increased, and a growl broke from his throat.
His blonde hair was hanging in his face, his green eyes filled with a vibrant intensity and wonder. He gently ran a hand through my hair, studying the texture with a hyper-focus I didn’t fully understand. Then it hit me.
Croy had never seen me reborn. He hadn’t been there the last time I’d been brought back from the dead.
I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him fiercely, the tension running through his body not stopping him from holding me close. I felt mesmerized by the way his wolf let out a purr-like rumble from his chest, the sound making me feel relaxed and nearly dizzy with relief.
“You’re alive,” he whispered, squeezing me tighter as if assuring himself. “You’re alive.”
“Are you okay?” I pulled back to look up at him, his gaze already transfixed on my expression.
“Okay? Sure. Just completely fucked up from seeing you die and then be resurrected.” Guilt hit me, and it must have been plain on my face because he shook his head, looking panicked.
“I shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sorry, sugar, I just…
I just can’t believe you’re here. Standing in front of me. Alive.”
Before I could respond, he looked up at the other two in the room. “Atlas is downstairs talking to her parents. Someone should let him know she’s up.”
My parents? Holy crap. They were here, that’s right… I would deal with that later. Right now, I could feel that Croy needed me.
“I got it,” Sai said. “Marco, want to come with?”
“I’m not leaving her,” Marco growled, but he did move across the room towards a large bank of windows, giving Croy and me a moment alone.
I focused on Croy again, studying the way he was watching me. I worried that if I spoke, I would break the intense moment between us.
“I love you.”
My eyes widened. This was the first time Croy had said those words to me.
I think we had both felt them for some time, but the impact of the words couldn’t be described.
I swallowed down the wave of emotions that slammed into me as my eyes watered, my grip tightening on him. “I love you so, so much, Croy.”
“Sugar…” He let out a soft groan, cupping my jaw and kissing me deeply before whispering, “I love those words on your lips.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” I murmured again and again, willing to give him those words a million times over if he loved them. “And I’m so sorry I scared everyone so much?—”
“No.” Croy let out a low rumble. “Never apologize for being brave, Maya.”
Brave. He was right—I’d been brave.
“Angel?”
My head turned towards the open doorway as Atlas stepped in. His hair, which was normally brushed out and long, was tugged away from his face, his soft blue and gold eyes hard as they ran over me. It was obvious that Atlas wasn’t in his normal state, a predatory energy running under his skin.
“Atlas,” I breathed out. I could see that he’d thrown up an emotional wall, and I knew it was to hide what he was feeling. I also knew that it meant we needed to be alone.
“Croy, Marco, can I have a moment alone with Atlas?”
Croy let out a rumble of agreement. “Of course, Sugar.”
“No.”
I looked over to Marco, who was holding Atlas’ gaze. There was a silent conversation going on between the two of them, and when a rumble left Marco’s throat, I knew I needed to step in.
“Marco, please?” I kept my voice soft and relaxed, but also firm.
“I’m not leaving,” he bit out as I approached him.
“I need to be alone with him,” I explained quietly, squeezing his hand. “You can be right outside the door. I promise I’m not going anywhere.”
Marco’s breathing was harsh as he looked down at me, holding my gaze for long enough that I thought he would ignore my plea…
before grunting and striding towards the door, clearly upset.
I swallowed, trying to not feel nervous about handling that and instead turning towards Atlas, who was now rounding the bed and walking towards me slowly.
Once the click of the door sounded, something shifted in the room, and I felt everything inside of me freeze.
Something had changed with Atlas, and I was nervous to find out what that was.