Page 35 of The Storm Within

Unfortunately, Nate was still stuck in the damn illusion. It might be permanent too. When he’d felt Ryker pick up his body in the shadow, Nate had freaked out, trying desperately to tell his mate to leave him there, but all he’d been capable of were wounded animal sounds, thanks to Diobno shutting him up.

What Ryker didn’t know was the farther away Nate’s body was from his mind, the deeper he sank into the abyss.

If Nate didn’t get back to his body soon, his chance to do so would be lost forever.

What a sucky Christmas this had turned out to be. Not only had he found then lost his mate but he’d lost his freaking body too. And his mind might just make it onto that list as well.

“Why do I have to have such a crappy family?” Nate rolled over onto his side, giving in to his foul mood. “I hate you, Diobno. I hope you never recover, you rotten piece of poop.”

Could Nate use the closet again? Nope. Even in his pathetic state, his uncle had sealed off all the exits as a final fuck-you to his nephew. So even if he died, Nate had no hope of getting out of this dump.

He stiffened when he felt a presence in the room with him. Diobno? His physical form was in bad shape, but his uncle’s mind was as sharp as ever.

But it didn’t feel like his uncle. It wasn’t an ominous presence. Being trapped here was weakening Nate, but he used some of his quickly depleting energy to sit up so he could look around.

No one was in the room with him. It was just him and hopelessness.

Yet, that feeling wouldn’t go away. Nate stilled when he felt something gently gliding through his hair, almost like a soft caress. Huh? When he reached up and touched his head, nothing was there.

“Oh god. I’m finally losing my freaking mind.” Although all he was right now was a subconscious state. Even so, not once in the hundred years he’d been roaming these halls had he felt invisible hands on him.

And he didn’t want to start feeling them now.

“Stop that!” He batted at his head when he felt those soft strokes again.

But it wouldn’t stop.

Unable to sit up any longer, Nate lay back down, this time keeping his back to the wall so he could watch the room. The first thing that came to mind was Diobno playing some sort of cruel game, but his uncle was reserving his strength, fearing Ryker would come after him.

God, Nate hoped so, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath. Diobno was too rotten to die, and all the passageways were sealed.

Pay whiff snow.

Nate didn’t move a muscle at the sound of a child’s voice. What the hell? He wasn’t losing his mind. He’d already lost it.

Pay whiff snow.

“Sure, why not?” If Nate was going to be stuck here for the rest of eternity, at least he wouldn’t be alone. He had a disembodied voice to talk to. “Just don’t expect anything that requires more juice than I have.”

Raising his arm, Nate pointed at the ceiling. Tiny snowflakes began to fall, drifting slowly toward the floor.

“Sorry, rug rat. That’s all I have.” Nate eased his arm down. “Without my body, and losing my mind, you get a flea circus instead of an amusement park.”

A sweet, angelic giggle caused Nate to smile. If he was going insane, he would prefer the voice to be full of laughter and innocence instead of malice and pain.

“Who are you?” It was his insanity, so he was allowed to have a conversation with it.

I hung… I hung… I hungwe. More gwapes.

Thankfully, Nate wasn’t in his physical form, so he was no longer suffering hunger pains. “Sorry, rug rat. I don’t have any on me.” He curled his arms around his midsection, glancing at the chair he’d sat in while he’d watched TV with Ryker. “Do you know how much an expensive handbag costs?”

If his madness guessed correctly, Nate was going to completely give up.

Huh?

Nate chuckled. “Good answer, kiddo.”

Another caress through his hair. It was one thing to hear a disembodied voice, but those fingers felt too damn real.

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