Page 4 of Pain

I pulled in a deep breath, and my eyes widened in surprise. It was the first inhale I’d been able to take since Omaera and the bear left that didn’t feel like a thousand tiny daggers were piercing my heart. “This works fast,” I said with a grunt, relishing the deep lungfuls of air and the ease with which I could draw them in.

The mage nodded. “Rest, Lord Ferrin. When I finish with Maxar, I will get to work mixing you the compound.”

“I just took my last capsule, so we have a few hours.” I reclined againon the couch, propping a pillow under my head.

“You are noble not to tell her about the Mate’s Ache, but sometimes nobility can be to our own detriment. Perhaps if she knew, it may soften her resolve toward you and she could, in quicker time, agree to the mating in order to ease your pain.”

I grunted, shook my head, and closed my eyes again. “She has enough on her plate right now. I’d rather not add to it.”

The mage probably frowned, but I couldn’t see it. Her hum of disapproval was enough to know she disagreed. The swish of her skirts and change of air pressure around me said she took her leave of me, but I didn’t bother to open my eyes.

Whatever she put in that tea flowed through my icy veins and numbed the pain, which meant the chaos of the day and all that we’d been through finally had a chance to break free to the forefront of my mind, encapsulating me in a rush of overwhelming fatigue. I probably couldn’t have opened my eyes, even if I wanted to.

I was nearly off to sleep when the faint sound of Omaera’s voice broke through the fog of drowsiness, but when I tried to move, when I tried to open my eyes, I couldn’t.

What did that mage give me and why wasn’t I unable to wake up? I was suspicious of everyone now. Anybody could be working with Lerris, even Melissima. What if this was all a trap? I tried to scream out for Omaera, but fell into sleep, deep and dreamless before the words even came out.

CHAPTER TWO

Omaera

After our sexy walk through the woods, I felt closer to Zandren than ever. My bear truly understood me. He was patient, and he listened. However, he also provided me with a sense of safety and security I’m not sure I’d ever truly felt before. Even when I lived with Aunt Delia. My aunt did everything she could to protect me, and she’d done a wonderful job, but maybe now that I knew I was more than just human, I understood that niggling sensation in the back of my head that I’d ignored my whole life.

I always felt like there was something else.

Something more.

Something … that no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn’t be able to protect me from.

Perhaps I was saying that now that I knew, but if I thought long and hard about my last twenty-two years on this planet, I was embarrassed I didn’t read more into those feelings and the signs. That I didn’t do more investigating into my true nature and who I really was. Maybe I’d have uncovered something about my father sooner and been able to prevent all of this from happening.

Then again, she’d done a very good job of shielding me from this world. Not only with her magical spells, but also in the way she constantly shut me downwhenever I asked about my father. Or the way she redirected the conversation to the same canned responses about my mother and how much she loved me and that no matter what, she was always with me.

But those weren’t the answers I wanted.

I wanted to knowwhereI came from. I wanted to know why no other family came searching for me. Why was Delia the only person on either side interested in getting to know me? Didn’t my grandparents want me? Did I have cousins? Other aunts and uncles?

My young, obstinate, petulant self chalked it up to her just wanting to keep me all to herself, but I should have known better. She was protecting me from the truth. Protecting me from … all of this.

She couldn’t have known what would happen though. That Lerris would kill my father.

Or maybe she did.

Maybe she suspected that if Lerris knew about my father having an heir, he’d come after me.

Either way, although I knew my aunt was trying to protect me, I never truly believed that she could. She was a tiny woman whose bark was far worse than her bite.

Zandren was the opposite. His bite was infinitely more lethal than his bark—or growl, in this case. I’d never felt safer walking through the woods—or anywhere, for that matter—than I did with my bear by my side.

All good things must come to an end though, and after a few hours snuggled up in the fury embrace of my bear, I knew we needed to return to the cottage. I needed to get back to not only Gemma, but Drak and Maxar too. Maxar was hurt, and Drak was … well, he was part of this too, and as much as he drove me nuts, the grumpy vampire was growing on me.

We arrived back at the healer-mage’s quaint cottage only to find Drak passed out cold on the couch with a compress on his head, and Maxar and Melissima were nowhere to be found.

“I’m going to go find something to eat,” Zandren said, pulling me close and pressing a kiss to the side of my head before releasing me. “You want anything?”

I shook my head. “I’m okay. I’m going to go find Maxar and Melissima.”

He nodded, and we parted ways with him going to the kitchen and me wandering down the hallway toward the soft murmur of voices.

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