Page 50 of Gift from the Nexus

“Morning,” I say in a breathy whisper as his lips gently press against the soft skin behind my ear and I forcefully swallow down the needy little sound trying to come out.

“There’s a healing vial on the bathroom counter for you and I’ll have your coffee waiting for you when you get back. After that, Jamie is coming to check you over. Oakly’s asked to join him, but I told her I’d have to see how you felt when you woke up,” Corentin says, moving me off his lap and more fully into Caspian’s.

“Were you not sleeping the whole time I was?” I ask him, raising a brow.

“Mostly. I slept about eight hours.”

“Then he bossed the rest of us around to go grab his shit because he wouldn’t move you off his chest,” Tillman taunts as he comes to stand in front of me, leans down, and catches my lips with his.

“You’re glowing this morning, little warrior.”

“Like Corentin’s gift glowing or…”

“No, like you spent the night having your body worshipped, then caught up on some much-needed rest between your men.”

My face flames at his comment, and I duck my head to hide my smile in Caspian’s shadows that are swirling around me because yeah, both those things will have a girl waking up in a fantastic mood.

“I’d like for Oakly to come. Gaster as well, please,” I say once I compose myself, leaning over to give Corentin a quick kiss, then make my way to the bathroom.

Draken’s the only one who attempts to go with me, but with the guys’ stern objections, he relents, vowing to be right outside the door if I need him.

It takes just a few moments to chug down the healing vial and handle the rest of my business, then I find myself staring at my reflection in the mirror. At some point, Corentin or one ofthe others dressed me in an oversized white T-shirt that comes down to mid-thigh and a pair of my own underwear. So what I was most fearful of seeing is concealed, and a whoosh of relieved breath empties my lungs as I gaze at the remaining visible marks.

The bruises that colored my face some twenty-four hours ago are nothing more than vague yellowish tints and as I trace my finger down my neck, the puncture wounds are still slightly raised but look like mere freckles, as do the ones dotting my thighs.

Like I allowed a child to go crazy across my arms and legs with a pale pink Sharpie, the cuts nearly blend into my fair skin and my mind whirls on how this is possible when all I’ve done is take a few healing vials.

Over and over, with shaky hands, I reach for the hem of my shirt to pull it off and take a look, but panic grips my fingers, not allowing me to fully go through with it. Just as I give up for the fifth time, I sense the shift in the air, and I know my dark protector is sitting in the shadows, watching, and waiting.

“Caspian, how’s this possible?” I ask in a small whisper.

Stepping out from the wall directly behind me, he prowls his way forward, his eyes locked with mine in the mirror the entire time until his front is firmly placed to my back. He doesn’t answer me right away, but his gaze trails across the almost completely healed wounds with no surprise written in their depths, but there is a curious gleam to them.

“There’s honestly no telling with you, little Primary. You truly defy everything many of us have ever read about,” he says slowly, reaching down to grip my hands that are still tangled in my shirt. “I can only assume between the healing vials, your proximity to your Nexus, and yours and my brother’s bonding last night, that’s what your body needed to expedite your healing on its own.”

My breathing hitches in my throat when he begins to pull my hands up, dragging my shirt up with them.

“Cas…”

“It’s time to face it. Trust me,” he whispers, and I slam my eyes shut as he pulls the fabric over my head.

I’m all too aware that I have no bra on and I’m standing before him almost completely naked, but my body can’t even react to that because of the fear clutching my heart. There’s no telling the condition of my most vicious wounds and I’m petrified to look.

“Open your eyes.”

The soft tone of his voice leads me into a sense of calm. I don’t know whether it’s just naive hope that if he’s not reacting negatively, then everything looks okay, or if I just know, in my soul, whatever I see, I’ll be okay because he’s here, but regardless, I open my eyes.

My shocked inhale echoes around the bathroom as I stare at my chest.

Gliding my hand up, laying it over my heart, there’s nothing beneath my fingertips but my soft skin and the first thought that comes to mind is Corentin’s hand, commanding my bond to come to him. The way he attended to the haunting impression in both the shower and in his bed was like he was determined to wipe the experience from my mind and replace it with his own.

With newfound elation and hope, my eyes skim past the raised pink skin that matches my other cuts and settles on my hip.

As swiftly as that excitement rose, it comes crashing down on me like a tsunami, pulling me under to drown. Starting from my head down to my toes, it feels like a sheet of ice is cloaking my body, freezing me in time as I stare at my hip.

Multiple white pearly scars stare back at me mockingly as I scan the surface for where the beautiful silver outline of teethmarks is supposed to be. Very few, barely visible silver pigments poke through the mess, attempting to shine brighter than the devastation, but the convoluted, unwelcome, disfiguring scars veil its perfection.

Like too much weight bearing down on the top of a frozen lake, I feel the crack in my ice beginning to spread. If not for Caspian’s arm instantly wrapping around my waist, I’d shatter to pieces all over the ground right where I stand.

---