Page 124 of Knot Your Fated M.U.S.E.

Atlas's thumb traces my cheekbone with impossible gentleness while Vale's presence burns against my awareness like a brand. The former offers security I've never known, while the latter ignites recognition that transcends our years apart.

My heart thunders against my ribs as competing desires wage war in my chest. The urge to lean into Atlas's touch battles with the need to turn toward Vale's suffering.

To accept the protection freely offered or return to the alpha whose blue eyes have haunted my dreams.

The alarms increase in pitch, marking time slipping away like sand through desperate fingers.

"Can you trail behind me in this state?" Atlas asks, palm still cradling my cheek with impossible tenderness.

The question forces reality back into focus, though my throat constricts around rising emotion.

"Is he going to be okay?" The whispered inquiry slips out before wisdom can silence it, aimed at Atlas despite Vale's presence at our feet.

Needing validation from the leader.

Seeking truth from alpha authority.

Craving assurance from the one who first showed me mercy.

"Right here, you know," Vale mutters, strain evident beneath attempted humor.

Atlas's response carries a lethal warning.

"Not another word from you, or I knock you out myself,” he growls menacingly. “Better pray you aren't full of bullets by the time we reach the van."

The threat silences Vale instantly, his head dropping in submission which speaks volumes about pack dynamics I barely understand.

Atlas returns his attention to me, covered gaze somehow conveying intensity despite the silk barrier.

"Vale has a condition that makes his legs stop working," he explains with calculated precision. "We'll discuss details once we're behind safe walls, but right now we have two choices. Leave him or take him with us."

My heart clenches at the first option, shadows stirring with unexpected protest.

"Taking him means I carry him, leaving me exposed," Atlas continues. "I won't risk you leading point in case of crossfire. Can you confidently run behind us, watching for danger?"

"Yes," immediate certainty surprises even me, but anxiety bleeds through as I add quietly, "So he's not dying, right?"

Atlas pauses, perhaps weighing the tremor in my voice or the vulnerability such concern reveals.

"Not on my watch, little Goddess," his assurance wraps around me like armor before he leans closer to whisper, "Vale's too stubborn to fucking die so pitifully, but having your support might help him live longer."

A grunt from Vale suggests burning responses held in check only by fear of Atlas's earlier threat. Relief floods my system, steadying hands that had begun to shake without my notice.

"I can maintain defense," I affirm, drawing on years of training to project confidence I'm no longer certain I possess.

"Only if absolutely necessary," Atlas's tone brooks no argument. "Need you unharmed, understood?"

I nod before catching myself – his blindness requires verbal confirmation.

"Yes."

His smirk suggests he sensed the movement anyway, right before he captures my lips in a kiss so gentle it steals my breath. The unexpected tenderness, witnessed by Vale and pressed against time's deadly march, should feel wrong.

Instead, it anchors me, burning away anxiety with pure sensation.

Need this.

Crave the assurance.

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