Page 33 of Never Submit

Dax’s eyes flick to Ren once more and then back to me. He hesitates, as if weighing his options, before finally nodding.

“Fine. But if you screw this up and she gets even more hurt, Noble—” he begins.

I cut him off. “I won’t screw it up.”

Without another word, Dax turns and jogs back up the slope. I watch him go, my jaw tight, before turning my attention fully to Ren.

“Come on,” I murmur, adjusting my grip on her. Even though we have a while to go, being alone with her, having her in my arms, has my wolf howling with relief. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

Chapter 8

Ren

It’s the reunion of my dreams, but it’s ruined because there’s no way I’m actually seeing what I’m seeing.

My brain must be scrambled.

You’ve got to be shitting me.

There’s Torin and Mathis standing shoulder to shoulder as Noble guides me toward the two waiting vehicles pulled haphazardly off to the side of the road.

“What is this?” My teeth chatter, and my breath gusts out in front of me.

“This is something you may never see again,” Noble whispers. His warm breath tickles the hair above my ear.

Having him with me is the best gift I could have asked for. Somewhere along the line, Noble became so important to me that even being close to him, touching him, can smooth out the knots in my head.

The exhaustion, though…there’s no running from it. Which must be why I’m dreaming now because there is no way this is happening.

The shock of seeing the two alphas together sends mystomach into a spiraling mess, my chest hitching, my mind weirdly blank. Why are they together? Is it…because of me?

A part of me pulls up short, uncomfortable at the idea. Like it’s some kind of blasphemy.

Torin leans to say something to Mathis, the other man nodding his head sharply, their attention centered on me.

They’re talking. Not trying to kill each other.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Mathis steps forward once I’m within earshot. He bends to press a kiss to the top of my head, like I’m not covered in blood. “How are you holding up?”

“She’s been through hell. What do you think?” Noble answers for me.

Okay, so they may still try to kill each other.

Mathis holds out his arms for me, and I glance at Noble, who’s expression says he doesn’t want to put me on my own two feet yet. But I give him a pat on the shoulder to let him know it’s okay, and grumbling, he lets me down—almost like it would be some kind of betrayal to leave him. I step into Mathis’s waiting arms, absorbing his warmth, his kindness.

My knees sag, and I lock them together, the horror of the last few days dissipating.

Mathis draws in a breath, and I feel the way he freezes. His entire body goes stiff in my arms. “There’s something different about you, Ren,” he mutters. “What happened?”

“It’s the blood.”

“No, it’s not.” He steps back but keeps his hands on my biceps, rooted in place for his scrutiny.

I never thought I’d see them again. In that cell in the mountain, I thought about them, and worried. Wondered.

There’s still a dreamy quality to our reunion, but I’m confused, tired, and throbbing in all the wrong places. Thebrief respite in Noble’s arms feels too far away to have just happened.

“Andras had me. He tried to force me to change, to shift, and said I wasn’t going to go free until I did.”

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