Page 10 of The World Undone

Without further preamble, Eli and I did just that. She unlocked the padlocked door at the end of the hall—the tech here wasn’t nearly as advanced as what we were used to at The Guild. The lock wouldn’t keep many people here out, it was a signal more than anything. But everyone honored the rules, trusting that, unlike The Guild, the people here were doing their best to keep everyone safe.

And from what I understood of Seamus’s situation, these provisions were more for our safety than his.

The door opened into a dark stairwell that we descended in silence, until Charlie stopped at the base where another locked door stood. A single lightbulb lit the area, the glow of light warm and faint, highlighting the dust particles that floated in the air around us.

She turned around, her dark eyes latching onto mine. There was a spark of knowing there that I couldn’t quite name, a sadness that burrowed deep into my bones. “I assume that Eli’s been keeping you updated on him?” She grunted. “To be honest, I’m surprised you didn’t break in here this week. Not like we could truly keep you out, even if we used every tool at our disposal to try. But I appreciate that you’ve been abiding by our protocol, as tedious as it may seem sometimes.”

I nodded, leaning into Eli at my back. “I recognize that I’ve thrown a wrench into a lot of your plans here—created a lot of work and rushed things along at a pace that probably none of us were prepared for. But I’m trying to honor your rules and requests as best as I can, when I can.”

She tilted her head, studying me, the smirk softening into something kinder, but still clouded over by a pervasive exhaustion.

“And as for Seamus,” I tightened my grip on Eli’s hand, “I’m up to date, yes.”

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to be updated on.

Seamus was a werewolf now, but due to his age and the severity and location of the bite, he was not handling the transition particularly well. More than that, there seemed to be something different about the wolf that bit him—and no one had any ideas or explanations as to what that difference was.

“I was just visiting with him. His memory,” Charlie took a deep breath, her gaze cutting briefly to the thick door behind her before she turned back to Eli and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t even imagine—that must be very difficult for you.”

“Better faulty memory than dead.” Eli’s voice was hard, but not unkind.

“Yes, well, Levi has been taking good care of him. He’s in there now and has offered to guard during your visit today while Tex and Bishop tend elsewhere,” she said. Eli stiffened next to me, his tension slicing into me. “I know you both can protect yourselves, but sometimes that’s more difficult when it’s your own family that you need protection from. Seamus has been a little—” her eyes narrowed as she searched for a word, finally settling on “volatile.”

Eli’s hand gripped mine. He’d been visiting Seamus every day, in the brief stretches that he was permitted, and each time he’d emerged from this stairwell, he’d looked a little more fractured, the pain echoing deep inside of me.

I’d found scratches carved into his side, noticed a few discarded shirts that had blood belonging to him. But he never spoke the words out loud—that Seamus had attacked him.

Of course, Darius knew for sure—his body often mirroring the strikes against Eli, thanks to the blood bond. Surprisingly, he never called attention to it, never complained or even said a word. He’d just look at Eli with unspoken compassion—their bond shaping into something surprisingly tender, given all of their bickering.

“I should be going though. I want to check in with Greta again before lunch, see what orders she needs sent out. I know we’re low on a lot of supplies. I’m hoping we can send a team out for a run, now that things are settling down a bit.”

I bit back a grin at the sarcasm that lifted her voice at the end of that sentence. I wasn’t sure things would settle down here for a very long while. Maybe ever again.

With a soft smile and sympathetic glance at Eli, she left us there, waiting outside of the door.

I didn’t rush Eli.

Instead, I turned around and looked up. He was always taller than me, but I had to really crane with him on a step above mine. I cupped his cheek and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth—one he met me halfway for. Amber eyes swallowed my focus as he studied me—open and vulnerable in a way that I’d only seen him a handful of times.

My heart skipped in my chest, and I tried desperately to resist the urge to kiss him again, this time with more heat. It had been a while since we’d last been together in that way, and I could feel my body hunger for him—could feel that hunger mirrored in him too.

Something had shifted irrevocably between us in hell—an openness, a trust. It’s what allowed the bond to fully shape, and it was growing stronger every day—more solid, unwavering.

We’d wasted too much time hiding ourselves from each other, resisting the obvious connection between us. Now that those barriers were demolished, I wanted nothing more than to be consumed by him.

The heat in his eyes flared, the tension in the dim stairwell teetering on the edge. My stomach was tight, my breath quick.

I took a step back as he cleared his throat.

Later.

Seamus was waiting for us.

As was Levi.

I rapped my knuckles against the cool metal door, but the hinges creaked before I could repeat the gesture.

A soft glow of light washed over us as Levi stood before us.

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