Page 28 of Bound to the Guard

“Seven?” Alarmed, Damien reaches for me.

My mouth opens to answer him, but everything shuts off.

9

Awhite light pierces through the fog, stabbing into my brain. I try to turn away, but my body won’t respond, my muscles locked in place.

Panic rises. This happened at the lab - being paralyzed, examined, and experimented on.

“Seven? Can you hear me?” Damien’s voice breaks through, laced with worry. His face swims into view as the light moves away. “I don’t understand what happened. We were doing fine, talking, and then he just… shut down. Stopped responding.”

Another figure in a white lab coat appears, and my heart pounds wildly. Not again. Please, not again. But it’s not the scientist from before.

This man has a kind face behind wire-rimmed glasses. “It happens sometimes, with people who have been through significant trauma. The mind protects itself by shutting down. What were you doing when this occurred?”

Traumatized.

Broken.

The words slice into me, confirming my deepest fear. I’ll never be normal, never be whole. Despair threatens to pull me under.

Damien comes back into view, his brows knitted with worry. “We were in the bathroom, about to wash our hands. Seven seemed comfortable. Nothing in there has triggered him before.”

The doctor jots down notes on a clipboard. “What were you discussing, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I was telling him about my brothers and cousins. And then I asked…” He trails off, and uncertainty pinches his features. “I asked about his family.”

The ringing in my ears returns, and a shrill whine builds in my throat.

No, no, no. I can’t go back, can’t let the darkness swallow me whole again. My chest constricts, each breath a struggle.

Damien’s attention snaps back to me, his hands cupping my face. “Seven? You’re here, in the present. Whatever you’re remembering, it can’t hurt you now.”

His thumbs brush my cheeks. “Come back to me, sweetheart. It’s okay, you’re safe. I’m right here with you.”

Raising my hands to my ears, I shake my head.

“Breathe, Seven. In and out, nice and slow.” Damien’s pheromones wrap around me, soothing my anxiety. “You’re not alone. I’m right beside you.”

Gradually, the ringing subsides, replaced by the steady thump of my heartbeat. The tightness in my chest eases, and I suck in a trembling breath. Damien’s kind face returns, filled with a mixture of relief and concern. His touch grounds me, a lifeline I cling to as I take in our surroundings.

We’re still in the suite, in the bedroom. Not in a lab.

“That’s it, you’re doing great,” Damien murmurs. “Keep breathing. Focus on me.”

Craving the comfort and safety he provides, I lean into his touch. His arms wrap around me, pulling me close, and I bury my face in the crook of his neck. The warm, musky scent of him envelops me, chasing away the lingering tendrils of fear.

“I’ve got you.” His lips brush my hair. “You’re safe.”

I want to believe him, want to trust that he can keep the nightmares at bay. But what if I’m too broken to heal? I may have escaped the hell of the last year, but the scars still live on my body as constant reminders.

Damien’s hand glides over my trembling back, soothing me with his touch. “Do you want the blanket?”

At my nod, he releases me with one arm and reaches for the quilt on the bed, draping it over us both. I burrow my head down until only my eyes poke out and every breath I take delivers another dose of Damien’s calming pheromones.

Across from us, Dr. Walton sits on a chair he pulled from the corner of the room, and he regards us with concern. “Seven, Damien, I need to talk to you both. What happened earlier was not a simple incident. It’s a clear sign of severe trauma.”

My stomach twists. I know what’s coming, that he’ll want to separate me from my Alpha, and I don’t want to hear it.

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