Page 7 of Underworld

I grin, surprised he remembered my favorite scent. Lavender is a close second, though. I wrap my arms around his waist, holding him tight. “Thank you.”

Embracing me, he kisses the top of my head. “It’s just bath salts, Jane.”

I tighten my hold on him and respond, “Thank you for coming to the tavern to get me. For leading me back to the others. For never giving up on finding me.” My throat clogs with emotion because I don’t think he realizes how much this means to me. How alone I felt without them. “For giving me a home,” I whisper.

Placing his hand against my cheek, Alec forces me to look up at him. He looks so serious right now, his golden-brown eyes piercing me with their intensity. “You are our Queen. You always have been and always will be. We never stopped looking for you and never once thought to stop searching.” He brushes his thumb under my eye, and I realize I've let the tears slip from my control. Fuck, I’ve never cried so much in my life. What are these guys doing to me? He kisses my forehead. “We will keep you safe, Jane. We won’t let you slip through our fingers this time, understand?”

I nod, and he brushes his lips against my forehead before backing toward the door. I continue staring at the tub, trying to control my emotions. I really want to believe that they will keep me safe. I want to hope, above all hopes, that my father will never find me. But, I’ve found hope is fickle, and I’ve been burned too many times by her flames.

Chapter Eight

Jane

I’m frantically trying to find a way out of this dream. Running toward the only door I see as fast as I can. It slams shut, and I halt in the dark. This is only a dream. Only a dream. Maybe if I tell myself that enough, I will wake up.

“Daughter, where are you?”

Fuck! Nightmare! It’s a nightmare! I can feel the scream in my throat, trying to find a way out, but I choke it down. This isn’t real. I ran away from home. I’ve been on my own for years, looking for my guys. I’m with my guys now! Squatting down, I cover my ears and close my eyes. Maybe if I ignore what’s happening, I’ll wake up.

“My little girl. Jane, why are you hiding from Daddy? I want to show you something.”

I squeeze my closed eyes tighter. No. NO! Just go away! Just go away! This isn’t real. This isn’t real!

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over the place for you. Come now, Jane. I have someone I want you to meet.”

I don’t move. Refusing to give in to this nightmare.

“Jane, don’t make me repeat myself. You know what happens when I am forced to repeat myself.”

I whimper at the thought. I feel ghostly fingers running through my hair and tears streaming down my face. I’m not sure if it’s only in my nightmare or if it’s in the real world, but I want to wake up! The fingers tighten their hold, and I whimper from the pain.

“Let’s go, Jane.” The dark promise in his voice tells me to get up and move, but my body isn’t listening. The fingers tighten and jerk me out of my huddled position, pulling me along. I scream as I pull and scratch the hands holding onto my hair. “Now, now, Little Princess. You know how I hate repeating myself. Be a good girl and submit.”

I scream and continue fighting his hold. I’m not a little girl anymore! I scream and scream till my throat hurts.

I’m about to faint in the dream when I feel the tug back to reality. I jerk awake with a scream, throwing the blankets off the bed. Looking around, I realize that the lanterns on the ceiling are softly lit, so I’m not surrounded by darkness. Gulping down air, I fall back onto the bed and cover my eyes. I feel the wetness on my face, which means I was also crying in the real world. A sob slips out that I can’t hold back. I’m not sure if I’m crying over the nightmare or in relief that it wasn’t real.

“Jane?”

I bite my lip, trying to stop my cries. Fuck, I woke the guys up. I can feel their stares from the doorway. Throwing my hand in the air, I wave them off. Taking a deep breath, I say, “I’m fine.” A few minutes pass, and I think they may have left. Then the bed dips beside me. A sob escapes my lips, and I cover my face again. Gentle hands pry my hands away, but I refuse to look at whoever it is.

“Jane, look at me.”

I shake my head, refusing. It’s Alec, and if I look at him right now, I know I won’t be able to hold back my sobs.

He draws gentle circles on my hand with his thumb to soothe me. “Please, Moonbeam. Look at me.”

Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes. Tears slip down my cheeks as I do. He slowly leans over and brushes away the wetness. “Hey, you still look beautiful.”

A snort of laughter bubbles out, but it doesn’t stop the sob that follows.

He pulls on my hand, and I shimmy to him to crawl into his lap. He wraps his arms around me. I shove my face into the crook of his neck and inhale his familiar scent. He smells just like he did as a kid. Like smoke and fire. Warm. It’s home. My mind and heart take that as a white flag of surrender, unleashing my pain, fear, and sorrow.

He rocks me from side to side as I’m wrought with debilitating sobs. My fingers dig into his back, trying to drag him even closer. I’m so afraid that if I let go, he will disappear. When I open my eyes, blurry as they may be, his lips are right there. “It’s okay, Moonbeam. I got you. I have you, and I’m not letting go.” He squeezes me tighter, pushing his cheek into my forehead. I feel cold liquid on my forehead as he does, making me cry harder. He’s crying too. We would cry together as kids too. Sharing in each other’s pain.

A hand rests on the top of my head, and I flinch. “It’s me, Sunshine.” I can hear the pain in Zane’s voice, and he slowly pulls away.

“Please. Please, come back, Zane,” I say between hiccups. I know he would never do anything to hurt me. His hand touches my head again and runs his fingers through my hair. I push my head into his touch, letting him know it’s fine.

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