Page 20 of The Prince's Mate

It took a lot more effort to get the collar off, and if he wasn’t busy blocking the camera, I might’ve asked Ro to do it so we could get Caelan out of here faster.

The clang of the collar falling to the concrete floor was loud in the otherwise silent room, and Caelan jumped at the sound, prompting me to take his hand.

"Let's get you home," I said.

I glanced over at Ro'Shassz, who gave me a nod, ready to follow us home. Tightening my grip around Caelan's hand, I closed my eyes and thought of the apartment, directing my magic to take us there.

It was clear something was wrong with Caelan's magic when it didn't join mine in. It felt like I was transporting an inanimate object and not a person, and that scared me. What had they done to him? And who were they anyway? Why had they captured him? How had they even managed to get the drop on him?

We appeared on the living room floor, and Caelan instantly crumpled. I barely scrambled close in time to keep him fromfalling to the floor, and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, pulling him into my chest.

"Fuck, Caelan. Who did this to you?" I murmured, holding him to me and pushing his hair away from his forehead.

"What do you care?"

I swallowed, lightly running my fingers over the puncture marks circling his neck. "Of course, I care, Caelan. I've never stopped caring about you."

"Doesn't feel like it," he mumbled, and I pressed my nose into his hair, breathing him in.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about the way I've treated you," I mumbled into his hair. "I'll do better, I promise."

Pulling back, I glanced around the room, spotting Ro watching us from the top of the couch. Fuck, I hadn't even checked to see if he'd made it back.

"Come on. Let's get you into bed. Ro will get Da so he can heal you," I said, standing up and then heaving him into my arms.

“’M sorry I left," Caelan mumbled, his eyes closed as his hand curled into my shirt.

"Shh, it's okay, Kitty," I murmured as I placed him on the bed, and he made a sound that was an awful lot like a sob.

"Never call me that ’nymore," he muttered.

"I'll call you Kitty all the time once you're better," I assured him, and he shook his head, then winced.

"No, you won't," he said, finally slipping into unconsciousness. I scrambled onto the bed on the other side, settling beside him, and pushed his hair away from his face before trailing my fingers down his cheek. I wanted to go back to where we'd found Caelan and hunt down whoever thought they could hurt him and punish them for what they'd done to him.

It was a far cry from saying I hated Caelan, but it was time I was honest with myself, wasn't it? I adored him, had since I was five, and nothing would ever change that.

The wounds on his neck, wrists, and ankles still hadn't healed, and I was starting to get worried. Where was Da anyway?

As I ran my finger at the edge of the wounds on his neck, I realized his pendant could be digging into the wounds. Carefully, I reached behind his neck to unlatch it and pulled it off him, sliding it into my pocket to return it to him later.

I glanced at him just as I felt magic stir around us, pulling my attention for a brief moment, and I sucked in a breath as my eyes turned back to Caelan, blinking rapidly to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. No, this couldn't be true. Could it?

"Walker! What happened?" Da asked as he hurried over to us, Dad hot on his tail, and I shook my head, my mind a mess of emotions.

"Uh, Caelan went for a walk, and then he didn't come back all night. We went looking for him today and found him in a cage, shackled. They were spelled with black magic," I said, and Da's eyes narrowed as he placed his palm on Caelan's forehead.

"A cage?" Dad asked, a touch of sharpness to his voice, and I nodded.

"It was in this dark basement type room, and there was a camera, but Ro covered it before I stepped into view," I assured him, and he nodded.

"Ro, get me Kym," Da said.

"Is he going to be okay, Da?" I asked, taking Caelan's hand in mine and squeezing softly. Now that the shock was gone, I could see clearly that I hadn't imagined it. Caelan really was mine. My mate. Why had he hidden it from me?

"He'll be fine, kiddo. The dark magic they used is inside him now, so we just need Kym's help to burn it out of him so he can start healing again," he said, and I swallowed.

"Will it hurt him?" I asked, and Da frowned, his brown eyes sad as he glanced at Caelan.

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