Page 216 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Go. She needs you, right now,” Chris bent down and whispered in my ear.

I turned, grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him hard, feeling like the luckiest woman in the world for having found him.

I turned from him and headed to take care of my sister. I walked into her unlocked room, finding her already in bed. She hadn’t bothered to change or shower. My sister was just done with the world at the moment, and I didn’t blame her. I closed the door and crawled under the covers behind her, wrapping her in my arms.

It was a few minutes before she finally let go and sobbed. After twenty minutes of being unable to stop, I had Chris bring me up a chamomile tea to get her to calm down and sleep, worried about her pups and the stress on her body.

Eventually, the tea did its job, and she calmed down enough to fall asleep.

Once I was sure she was in a deep sleep, I got out of bed and walked to the little living room. I pulled out my phone, turned it on, and called Cory. I wasn’t surprised when he answered on the first ring, even though it was past midnight.

“What the hell is going on, Violet? No one is answering their goddamn phones! I’ve got the plane ready. I’m three minutes from driving out of here with twenty warriors to catch it, and find out what the fuck happened. I felt her, Bug. I felt her pain. What happened to my sister?” His voice cracked at the end and I felt for him.

It was hours of not knowing what happened when he felt her extreme emotions, as if it was a pseudo mate bond. So, I sat down and told him everything I knew, as well as I could, without falling apart myself.

Somehow, maybe he had the door open and he heard me talking, Chris knew what I was doing and came to sit next to me, pulling me onto his lap, and rubbing a hand up and down my back to soothe my heart. When I was done speaking, I buried my head in his neck just to calm myself with his scent.

“I’m coming out, now. Bells needs me,” Cory’s voice was full of pain, but I stopped him before he continued.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Cory. Give her time to process what happened. Ask her tomorrow if she wants everyone here right away, but I think she needs a few days. Chris and I are still here. We’ll make sure she’s okay. I was sleeping in her room before I came out to talk to you.”

“But—”

“Let her make the decision. We’ve only got a few more days before we go home,” I interrupted him. There was silence for a minute until I heard a deep sigh from Cory’s end, and I knew he was listening to my words.

“Okay. I’ll talk to her in the morning. I’m glad you’re there for her, Bug.”

“I’m not leaving her side any time soon,” I assured him.

“And you? How are you dealing with all of this?” he asked, and my lip from trembled as I pushed past the knot in my throat so I could speak.

“I’m sad. I love Adam. I’m going to miss him a lot, but it’s nothing compared to what Bells is feeling. I’ll be okay.”

Chris’ hand splayed over my stomach and inhaled deeply as he rested his forehead on my chest, likely thinking about what it would feel like to lose a pup.

“Okay, I’ll let you get back to Bells. Make sure you get some rest, too.”

“I will. Love you, big brother.”

“Love you more.”

“Let’s go to sleep, Little Warrior,” Chris whispered once I hung up.

“I’m going to go back to Bells,” I reminded him.

“I know. I brought pillows and a blanket. I’ll move the couch near the door to make sure no one gets in.”

“You’re always protecting me.”

“It’s the best job I’ll ever have.” He kissed my temple. “I want Bells to know I’m there for her, too. After everything she did for us... She needs us in her corner right now.”

“I love you,” I told him.

“I know,” he whispered and then smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

I rolled my eyes. Why did we watch Star Wars together? I stood so we could go to Bells, but he tugged on my arm and pulled me between his legs for a moment. He buried his head in my chest and added, “I love you so much more than I could have ever imagined loving someone, and it only keeps growing every day.”

I kissed him and when I pulled back, I told him, “That’s better.”

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