Page 249 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

I moved my legs a little, feeling no discomfort anymore. I wondered how long I’d been asleep. Nyko was awake and alert in the back of my head, already.

“Back to normal.”

“That’s great. I’ll have someone bring you food, and Valeria can explain what to expect when Bells wakes up.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a process. We essentially shut down her brain. She’s not just sleeping.”

My heart sank at her words as she exited, and then I looked at Cory. He was looking at me, as if he was measuring me to see if I was good enough for his sister. It made me wonder if I was going to have to cut ties with Crescent Moon in order to keep my mate.

“You love my sister?” Cory asked.

“More than life itself,” I answered without hesitation.

“Good.” That was all Cory said before he stood up. “I’m going to go explain things to my family. I suspect it’s going to get crowded in here soon, so make sure you take a moment to use the facilities, because if you leave Bells’ side while they’re here, you won’t find it empty when you come back.”

I nodded, looking down at where I was still holding Bells hand, and then over to the bathroom. I could really take a piss right now, but I didn’t want to leave her. What if she woke up alone? Cory seemed to read my face, because he finally smiled, as if I’d passed some sort of test, and walked over to us.

“Go use the restroom. I’ll be right here with her until you come back.”

“Thank you,” I managed.

I kissed the hand I was holding and then walked into the bathroom. I eyed the showerhead with a bit of longing. I’d been so out of it the last few days, I couldn’t remember when the last time I showered was. I was trying to scrub my armpits under the sink as best as I could, when there was a knock on the door.

“You have ten minutes,” Cory shoved fresh clothes into my hands when I opened the door.

“Thanks, man,” I answered.

The door barely clicked closed before I was peeling my clothes off and standing under the hot shower. I scrubbed as fast as I could, barely bothering to dry myself before I pulled on my clothes. I needed to be back with my mate.

Fuck. My mate. I stopped with my hand on the handle of the bathroom door as the realization of everything happening threatened to buckle knees.

My princess was mine.

Mine to love, mine to cherish and mine to spoil the fuck out of.

When I walked out, Evie’s mom was in the room checking on monitors.

“I’ll be back once you’ve eaten to explain everything,” she told me before exiting the room.

Cory stood from where he was sitting next to Bells, and nodded toward a tray of burgers sitting on a table beside the bed.

“I’ll try to stall them so you can eat, but we’ve been slowly falling apart with Bells in here.”

I nodded, understanding.

I sat down and grabbed Bells’ hand in mine again, eating with one hand. I had already finished one burger when Violet and Chris walked in moments later.

“Where’s John?” I asked.

“He went to grab your parents and tell them what’s going on. He said he’d be back in about an hour.”

“I—” I swallowed hard. “How can I ever thank you for everything you’ve done?”

“Treat my sister the same way you’ve always treated her, except don’t let her push you away again, and we can call it even.”

“She’s my shoe and I’m her gum. She’ll have to pry me off by force to get me away from her,” I assured her.

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