Page 13 of The Storm Within

The snowstorm was Nate’s way of luring people in, but it wasn’t to play some twisted game. It was to try and find someone to help him.

At least, that was what Ryker assumed. Until Nate came to, all he could do was piece together fragments of the situation, hoping to make sense of the bigger picture.

His mate started to shiver uncontrollably, his quiet, pained sounds breaking the silence like the whimper of a frightened animal.

“I have you, sweetheart. Come back to me, Nate. You’re safe.” He ran his hand along Nate’s arm and hip in soothing strokes, desperate to reach him. He wasn’t sure how to break through the fog, but he hoped his touch would anchor his mate, grounding him in the present.

All Ryker knew was that Nate needed to feel he wasn’t alone.

His mate began to sob, clutching Ryker’s arm as if letting go would send him spiraling into the darkness again.

“Is it r-really you?”

“It’s me.” Ryker pressed a lingering kiss to his temple. “It’s really me, honey bear.”

“No!” His mate cried harder. “You weren’t supposed to get trapped here too. I’m-I’m so sorry.”

“Tell me everything.” Ryker lay there and listened, his anger and horror rising the longer Nate talked.

“I don’t even remember the damn joke anymore,” Nate said despondently.

“Where is he now?” Ryker was stunned his mate’s own uncle had imprisoned him for a century in some crappy motel because his ego couldn’t take a hit.

But Ryker would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried. He’d heard Diobno tell Nate he might not ever make the motel reappear again. At least not for the next eighty or ninety years.

That was a long time to go without eating, and as a bear shifter, he had a huge appetite.

“My uncle never sticks around after I’ve failed to get free.” He stiffened. “Does he know you’re here? Did he see you after the motel disappeared? He’s a demon, Ryker. He can make his corporeal form fade, which makes him invisible.” Nate lowered his voice to a whisper. “He could be in the room right now, and we wouldn’t know it.”

“I don’t give a shit if he’s here. What I want to know is how are we going to eat?” Ryker scowled as he looked around, daring Diobno to show himself.

“Oh god!” Nate shot up, staring slack-jawed at him. “I don’t need nourishment, but you’ll starve to death!”

“Hearing it out loud makes it sound so much worse.” Ryker rolled to his back, tossing an arm over his eyes. “I hope that huge meal I had for lunch yesterday holds me over for the next century.”

He grunted when his mate slapped his gut. “That’s not funny!”

No, it wasn’t. Ryker was going to waste away to nothing if he couldn’t find a way out of this nightmare.

Starving to death was not on the top of his list of ways he could possibly die. If he had to go out, he would prefer to be in a bloody battle or saving someone he cared deeply about.

How was he even supposed to summon a demon while in limbo? More importantly, how did he summon one at all? Although he knew demons existed, his knowledge about them wasn’t extensive.

“Can you get him to show his ugly face?” The guy hadn’t been ugly. Ryker had gotten a good, hard look at Diobno when he’d been trying to get through the door.

As much as he hated to admit it, the demon had been downright handsome. Ryker mentally gagged, feeling queasy just from thinking that.

“I don’t know.” Nate glanced away. “As cruel and petty as Diobno is, I’ve begged countless times for him to return just so I had someone to talk to, but he never does. He only shows up when he wants to torture me with false hope.”

That was beyond fucked up. Ryker couldn’t imagine how desperate Nate had to be to beg his own prison warden to spend time with him. His mate had spent a century alone, isolated from the world.

“By the way, there’s no hot water.”

Ryker’s brows rose. “Oh, we definitely have to find a way out of here.”

Nate snorted. “Trust me, once the boredom sets in and insanity tries to unravel your mind like a ball of yarn, you’ll be checking every square inch of this place for a way out.”

“Not quite the amenities I look for, not unless I want something like the Overlook Hotel.” No lie, Ryker was lightweight panicking, feeling like a countdown clock was ticking above his head.

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