Page 21 of Damian

Emjay’s transformation from a scared girl who escaped to a leader determined to save her people is evident in every word she speaks.

I watch in awe, my heart swelling with pride and love for this woman. Yes, I already love her more than I ever loved the others.

With each time she tells the story, both of her daughters’ faces soften as if understanding and compassion for their mitéra grows in their hearts.

She finishes with informing the women of the mates outside, anxious to come inside with their permission. Many faces turn from fear to relief when Emjay assures them that the men cannot enter unless their mate grants them access.

Three of the women grab their children, and without looking back, run for the entrance, including the pregnant one who’d asked about the mating call.

I expected all of them to shy away from a man claiming them. Relief washes over me. There’s hope for the men outside and these ladies. The fates wouldn’t have ordained it any other way.

If I’m right, the number of men waiting outside equals the women in here. Minus Georgia.

Chapter 13

Emjay

“Among the ruins of despair, together we will find the strength to build a future filled with joy.” ~ Emjay

While we walk farther into the prison I grew up in, my heart aches with every sight.

The tents, ragged and torn, tell stories of countless nights of despair.

The smoke from the fire pits combined with the acrid smell of body odor creates a pungent aroma that’s hard to ignore.

The children’s hollow eye-sockets and the women’s weary faces speak of a life stripped of joy.

How can Georgia be the only one left from my time here? Why has she aged? How are there boys? Is she the only one whose clock isn’t ticking?

Question after question comes to mind, but it’s more important for me to give these women answers before I get my own.

“Anyone have questions?”

Hands raise. “Violet, you first,” Georgia suggests.

“Do we have to accept this mate?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to scare you, but take some time to decide before rejecting him. We don’t know for sure, but the monsters who kept us here, we suspect, became the way they were because their mates died or rejected them.”

Impacted by my words, fear and confusion wash over their faces. Despite their emotions, Violet, the only other female sired by Basil, challenges, “Why should that affect them? They don’t even know us.”

I turn to Damian to help answer. It’s eerie how he gets me without words.

“I hadn’t met Emjay when I heard the mating call, but I raced to get to her. Even though I was only eighteen. I didn’t know my soul lacked until I felt her. When the witch destroyed the tether pulling us toward one another, I felt as if she’d ripped the very essence of my being from my core. All that remained was a shell of myself. I’m fortunate to have a close-knit family. While I didn’t tell them about losing Emjay; I still leaned on them every day for comfort. It would have been easier to lose a limb than believing my mate had died.”

I couldn’t look at him while he spoke. Guilt overwhelms me. Logically, I know I couldn’t have prevented our separation. Logic rarely wins when I’m having an internal argument.

“Your mate won’t suffer alone. Rejecting him, losing him, will make all the punishments you endured seem like a mosquito bite.” My words express a truth I continue to ignore. Something that is harder to do every time Damian looks at me with longing in his gaze.

“How much time do we have to decide?” Violet’s tone sounds worried.

“They will wait an eternity,” Damian whispers.

“When was the last time any of you had enough to eat?” Shay interrupts at the sound of stomachs growling.

Georgia answers, “We ran out of food days ago. We’ve been boiling roots in water. The only thing left in the garden.” I remember when the garden produced plenty of vegetables. The earth beneath these women has wasted away in tandem with their lives.

“May I ask my mate and my sister’s mate to bring food?” Shay adds.

---