Chapter 223
He cupped my face and kissed me with everything in him, grief, rage, and devotion. “I promise. On my blood. On my soul. I will bring her
home.”
He carried me to the bed like I weighed nothing, laying me down gently like I might shatter all over again. His lips traced every tear track
down my cheeks. Every kiss was a vow.
“I’ve got you now,” he whispered, his voice ragged. “Let me take care of you.”
“Don’t be gentle,” I whispered. “I want to feel something that isn’t pain.”
His eyes burned like wildfire. “You sure?”
“Please, Rylen.”
Clothes vanished in flashes of desperate hands and fevered mouths. His body pressed into mine, skin to skin, soul to soul. “I need you,” I
whispered, my voice trembling.
“You have me. Always.”
And then he gave himself to me, his hands rough but worshipful, his mouth claiming mine like I was his air, his fire, his purpose. He kissed every scar, every freckle, every inch of me like I was something holy.
When he slid inside me, slow and deep, I arched into him with a sob. “Harder,” I begged. “Don’t hold back.”
He didn’t. “Say my name,” he growled in my ear, his hips snapping harder.
“Rylen,” I gasped, my nails raking down his back. “Gods…Rylen.”
We moved like fire, pain and passion, grief and love tangled into something raw and primal. We cried together.
We broke together. We burned together. And when we came undone, tangled in sheets and sweat and promises, I finally felt something I hadn’t since the portal closed.
Hope.
Bram Thundermaw POV
We failed her. Fuckin’ failed her.
Chapter 223
I sat on the cold stone floor of our shared bedroom, my back against the wall, my fists still bloodied from tearing apart cultists and vampires. My bear, Karkon still snarled inside me, restless, pacing, and pissed off beyond reason. But he was hurting too. Mournin’. Ragin’. Grieving the mate we’d just lost.
Ashrian was pacing the length of the room like a caged beast, his fangs flashing, still covered in blood and soot, his hands twitching like
he didn’t know what to do with them.
Daxon sat in the corner, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Silent. Dangerous. His wolf, Talon, had gone so quiet it was
terrifying.
And Lachlan… Lachlan was slumped against the far wall, his glowing green eyes dimmed to mossy sadness, his knuckles scraped raw from punching a tree outside before someone dragged him back in.
“She begged us,” Ashrian rasped suddenly, his voice shredded. “She begged us to leave her. And we, fucking hell, we left her.”
“No choice,” Daxon growled, his voice low and hoarse. “She ordered it. And we followed. That’s what a good mate does.”
I slammed my fist against the wall beside me. “Yeah? Then why does it feel like my fuckin’ insides are being ripped out?”
Lachlan let out a bitter breath. “Because she is our insides, mate.”
We all looked at him. “She’s our bloody heart. The spine of this little broken pack. The glue that fuckin’ holds us together.” His brogue
was thick, his words heavy like stone.
“An’ now she’s gone. Caged. Gods know what they’re doin’ tae her. An’ I’d burn the whole damn world just tae hold her hand again.”
Ashrian’s hands shook as he finally sank to the floor beside me, his knees giving out. “I should’ve stayed. I should’ve taken Lucien’s head
the second I saw him. Should’ve..”
“She told you to go,” Daxon snapped, his eyes flashing. “She looked right at you, and she trusted you to leave and keep fighting.”
“And I fuckin’ hate that she did,” Ash whispered, his fists clenched. “I hate that she always puts everyone before herself.”
“I’d trade places with her right now,” I murmured, my throat tight. “Would let them carve me open, chain me, bleed me dry, if it meant
she was safe.”
Lachlan nodded slowly. “Aye. Me too.”
Daxon didn’t speak. Just stood, walked over, and dropped down beside me with a heavy grunt. Then Ash joined us. Then Lachlan. No
words now.
Just us. A broken circle of men who loved one impossible woman. We sat in silence, our backs against the wall, bruised and aching and
grieving the part of us that was missing.
Chapter 223
Daxon let his head fall back, his eyes shut. “We get one fuckin’ shot at this,” he muttered. “We don’t get her back, I’m burning this world
to ash.”
“Aye,” Lachlan murmured. “Together.”
I didn’t know who reached first, but arms found arms, shoulders touched shoulders, and one by one, we collapsed into each other. Four warriors. Four mates. Holding onto the only thing we had left…. Each other.
Sleep took us eventually. But even in our dreams, she was there. Bleeding. Screaming. Chained.
And none of us could reach her.
