Page 76 of The Lycans: Vol Four

“Ye always have been, lass.” Before I pulled away he kissed my temple and exhaled roughly. “Tha mo ghion ort.”

I smiled and briefly closed my eyes, resting my forehead on his shoulder as a wave of emotion slammed into me. Brisa stirred slightly, little baby grunts coming from her that made my heart swell even more.

“I love you with all my heart, too, Odhran.”

“Rest, sweetheart. I’ll watch over both of ye.” He leaned in and kissed me in the center of my forehead, and I gladly took his advice as I laid back down in bed and watched as my mate took a seat beside me and went back to gazing at our daughter and humming softly.

Over the last nine months, I’d been having bi-weekly sessions with Bronwyn. We always took walks in the forest and found ourselves at the lake. Over time I found myself opening up more and more about my time with the Assembly, the things they did to me, how it all made me feel. And every time I spoke on it, I felt a little lighter.

I knew I’d never fully feel light, never get rid of these thoughts or feelings. They were forever a part of me now, a scar that I’d see and feel, and one that would forever be on my body. But the thing about it was I had to learn to live with it in a way that would give me control over it, and didn’t stop me from enjoying this second chance at this precious life. And I’d even started a few online classes that would have me working toward becoming a counselor.

I wanted to help those in the Otherworld, wanted to be someone they could share their horrors and pains, their fears and happiness with. These were all stepping stones, pebbles skipping on the vast ocean that was my life. But it was a start. It was my start.

My eyes became heavy as I stared at Odhran and let the soft sounds of him singing, and of Brisa making soft newborn sounds, lull me into sleep. And I was pretty sure it would be one of the best sleeps I’d ever had.

Being happy, in love, and loving those closest to you, tended to make everything just… fall right into place.

31

Sebastian

The godforsaken, fucking sun.

I wove through the forest, feeling drunk, unable to think clearly, unable to see anything but blurred colors and shapes in front of me. The scents of charred wood and soot, burned skin and blood, filled my nose.

I teetered and slammed a hand out, my palm connecting with the trunk of a tree. My claws dug into the bark.

How long had I been out here, roaming around this goddamn forest in the middle of nowhere, fucking starving? Days. It had to be days, and the goddamn sun was literally sucking the life out of me.

Gods, I was hungry, my throat dry, the pain in my stomach like a thousand needles stabbing me over and over again.

After releasing the Otherworld creatures caged in the facility, and then creating a bloodbath with all the human fuckers who worked for the Assembly, I’d left the burning remains behind me and headed straight for the thick crest of woods that seemed to stretch out as far as I could see.

But it had been so close to sunrise by that time, and it had been too late for me to find shelter. The fucking shade from the thick trees helped marginally, but as time went on and the sun got hotter, brighter, my thirst rose up.

The pieces of shit that held me captive had starved me, so I was running on fumes at this point, with any reserve of strength I had long gone after the fight.

I was going to die out here. I was pretty fucking sure of it. But gods, I’d been alive a long time, and death, especially right now, seemed pretty damn welcoming.

I felt sweat pour from my hairline as I kept stumbling forward, the growls that came from me something I couldn’t stop. My entire body felt like it was on fire, like I was burning alive.

This was surely what fucking hell felt like.

And just when I thought I couldn’t go farther, I collapsed, hands and knees on the ground, body shaking… and so fucking thirsty.

I let myself fall to the side, the wind getting knocked out of me, a slice of sunlight peeking through the treetop. With what remaining strength I had, I lifted my hand and gave that burning ball of bullshit the middle finger.

And then I promptly passed out and welcomed death.

The sound of water dripping and the scent of damp earth was the first thing I was aware of. The second was the fact it was blessedly fucking cool and dark where I was.

Surely hell wasn’t this pleasant.

Despite the dark, dank interior of wherever I was, I was still too weak, my body feeling like a husk of hunger and pain. I turned my head when I heard shuffling to my right, but even opening my eyes was a chore, and my vision was far too blurry to see anything clearly.

Once my vision adjusted slightly, I could see the flickering of light close by. A fire. And then a shape, a shadow moved across from me. I bared my fangs, using every ounce of strength I had to try and push my upper body up.

And then I promptly cursed when my arms gave out from under me. Motherfucker.

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