Chapter 2
The sound of low voices pulled at me. But I was floating in a fuzzy heat that I didn’t want to leave. There’d been too much pain. This was better. Safer. No hurt or fear. Just easy peace.
Fingers ghosted up and down my arm, leaving a trail of tingles in their wake. “I can’t stop touching her,” Declan muttered.
“It’s the bond,” Colt said. “It’s urging us to be as close to her as possible. It wants to root as deeply as it can.”
“Does that mean we got to her in time?” Ronan asked.
The child-like hope in his voice had pain flaring to life in my chest.
Dash toyed with a lock of my hair. “I think so. We just need her to wake up.”
The fear in his tone tugged me toward consciousness. I would’ve done anything I could to ease it. To take even just the slightest bit away.
I tried to open my eyes, but my lids were so heavy. As if bags of sand lay on the lashes.
A sound of frustration slipped from my lips.
The guys stilled.
“Did you hear that?” Declan asked.
Dash pressed a palm to my cheek. “Open those beautiful eyes, Mon Coeur. Let me see you.”
I tried again, putting all the force I could into the action. They fluttered but quickly closed.
“Come on, LeeLee. You’ve got this,” Colt said, squeezing my foot.
I pulled up all the strength I could muster and attempted again. This time, light burst into my vision as I blinked rapidly.
Ronan brushed the hair away from my face. “There she is. Missed you, Firecracker.”
Pain lanced my chest. “Hi,” I croaked.
Declan shifted quickly, grabbing a cup from the nightstand. “Want a sip?”
I nodded, and he gently placed the straw between my lips. I sucked down the cool liquid. It was an instant balm to my abused throat.
Declan pulled the straw free. “Let’s take it a little easy.”
My gaze swept the room. My bedroom at The Nest. The guys were all piled on my bed except for Trace, who sat in a chair next to it, his expression a blank mask. Briar let out a meow from her cat tower and launched herself onto the bed.
“Shit,” Colt muttered as he ducked out of her way.
She crawled up my body and headbutted my chin.
My arms instantly went around her. “I missed you, too.”
“Lucky cat,” Ronan muttered under his breath.
Dash chuckled, but there were shadows in his eyes. “How do you feel?”
I did a mental survey as Briar curled into a ball at my side. “Okay. My throat’s a little raw—”
My words cut off as memories slammed into me. Maryanne’s attack. Her hands around my throat, pushing me under water. The burst of energy. The guys bringing me back.
My eyes widened as my heart rate rocketed.
Declan wove his fingers through mine. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
“Maryanne,” I whispered.
Trace’s expression went thunderous. “She was dealt with.”
I searched the group in question.
Colt’s hold on my foot tightened. “We can wait to talk about this later.”
“I need to know,” I whispered.
He shared a look with the others. “We’re not sure what happened. We saw her attack you and push you under the water. Then there was a burst of light. It was like it came from you. She flew off you and into the water.”
Colt stopped talking, and my pulse thrummed in my ears.
“What happened to her?” I pushed.
Dash’s fingers tangled in my hair. “We don’t know, but she was dead by the time we got to her.”
“I killed her,” I choked.
“Death was too kind for her,” Trace growled, his eyes glowing that bright purple.
My breaths came quicker.
Ronan moved into my line of vision, his hands cupping my cheeks. “Look at me. Your magic did what it had to do. It protected you.”
“I killed her,” I whispered.
“She almost killed you,” he gritted out, his eyes sparking gold.
Tears filled my eyes. “I almost lost you.”
Ronan leaned down, his forehead pressing to mine. “But you didn’t. We’re all right here.”
I struggled to get my breathing under control. Ronan’s scent of fresh rain filled my nose. It eased me a fraction.
“That’s it,” he whispered. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
I wanted to believe that. Wanted to know that we had been through the worst of it and come out the other side. But still, fear pricked at me.
As Ronan pulled back, I searched the faces in the room. “You claimed me?”
It was Colt who nodded. “The mate bond is one of the few things that can heal an extreme injury like this. It’s like we have a tether that can help each other repair.”
My eyes flared. “I could feel it. It was like I was hovering over my body, each claim pulling me back.”
Fear and fury passed over all the guys’ expressions.
“It was too damn close,” Declan said in a hoarse whisper.
My hand found his, squeezing. The contact had heat flaring to life in my muscles, and my mouth fell open.
“You feel it?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Everything is heightened now that we’re bonded,” he explained.
I swallowed hard. I could imagine the guys’ touches making me feel more.
Dash’s thumb swept across my cheek, lighting a new series of sensation. “Nothing to fear.”
“I could combust,” I muttered.
Colt chuckled. “No combustion on our watch.”
“What does this mean?” I asked.
The amusement fled Colt’s expression. “It means you’re ours and we’re yours. Our souls are bound for eternity.”
My heart soared. There was nothing more I wanted than to belong to these men. To have them belong to me. “You’re my family,” I whispered.
Colt’s expression softened. “We always have been.”
My gaze pulled in Trace’s direction. I couldn’t read him, and it hurt that he was holding himself back from me even now. He hadn’t wanted the claiming, but he’d been forced into it.
The joy I’d felt slipped away, and a burn lit in my throat.
Dash shifted next to me, lifting an amulet that hung around his neck. “We all have to wear these to hide the bond for now.”
My brow furrowed, hurt pricking deep. “Hide it?”
Dash squeezed the back of my neck. “Mon Coeur. Don’t look at me with those wounded eyes. If it was up to me, I’d take out a billboard to tell the world you’re mine.”
His words eased the sting coursing through me.
“Why do we have to hide?” I asked.
Ronan looked down at me. “We went against The Assembly’s orders by claiming you. It’s an offense punishable by death.”