Page 69 of Ronan

“Why are you helping him?” The man stares at me like I’m the monster, pushing his hand through his thick black curls as I whip my gaze to his. “It won’t take long before he’s on his feet again, and he’s going to be fucking furious. We need to run and hide!” A panicked edge increases the volume and pitch of his voice. “Now! We have to gonow… why aren’t you getting away from him?”

“What makes you think I’d want to leave him!?” I lean close, putting my ear to Ronan’s mouth, and catch the slow, steady sound of his breathing. Dizzy with relief, I push out a shaky sigh as I run my fingers through his hair and over his cheeks. “Who the fuck even are you?”

“R-Reyes,” he answers, shaking his head. “No, it is impossible that you are here by choice. I’ve been watching you for a week now. He’s been making you work on the solar panels and… and carry his stuff. He made you do his bidding, then locked you inside that house with him at night.”

Hands wringing in front of him, he glances around, becoming even more agitated. “I… I saw him forcing you! He threw you over his shoulder and carried you in, kicking and screaming! I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to help you. We have to get away!”

“This is my mate, you absolutechowderhead!”

Reyes’s face pales as his eyes fall to the shining mark on my arm, a certain understanding in his expression. “M-mate? But…” I glare at him, furious, but he’s now staring atRonan’s hand, glowing gently in the shadows. “If he’s your mate, then where are the others? How did you get away, andwhydid you come here? This is where they stop!”

“Others? What others?” I demand, and his eyes finally snap back to mine. His entire demeanor is tense, confusion scrunching his face. Around my age or a few years older, he’s shorter and stockier, with skin that’s a rich golden brown and thick, dark stubble on his jaw.

“Theothers!” he shouts, gesturing around him, and despite knowing we’re alone, my head whips in a circle to the empty space. “There are always more of you.”

“What the fuck are you even going on about!?” I yell back, right as Ronan grunts and stirs, and my entire focus turns to him, shouting match forgotten. “Hey, baby,” I whisper, holding pressure on his wound as I run my hand over his hair, pushing it out of his face. “It’s alright, Ro, I’m right here.”

Ronan twitches again, eyes fluttering underneath his closed eyelids. Pulling the makeshift bandage away, I check on the stab wound. It’s deep, but the blade didn’t hit anything major, and the bleeding is less severe than his previous injuries.

Fine… he’ll be fine.

My heart pounds like a drum against my ribs as I run my hands over his skin, trying to calm myself with the rise and fall of his breath beneath my palms. Cheeks, back, shoulders, neck, and arms, counting the beats of his pulse and checking his head where he was struck. Ugly shades of green and blue paint his skin, and a knot forms under his hair.

His eyes flutter open, and a shaky, half-hysterical laugh leaves me as they find mine. “Hey, big guy,” I whisper, and his lips lift in a weak, confused smile.

“You called me baby,” he mutters, voice slurred.

“I’d never do such a thing,” I whisper on a choked sob. Confusion furrows his brows, and he winces with the action, taking in his position on the ground.

I spot the exact moment his brain catches up to what happened.

“Ronan—” I warn, but he’s already on his feet.

A blur of motion, he charges after Reyes, who fled while I was too focused on Ronan to notice. Blood leaks from his wound, pouring in a steady stream as he runs. I curse under my breath and chase. Ronan will be devastated if he hurts this man before he realizes he was attempting to help me.

“Ronan!” I shout, right as he catches up to Reyes and throws him against the wall. “Ronan, no!” Reyes’s eyes consume his entire face. Violent tremors rack his body as Ronan looms over him, nothing more than a raging inferno of fury.

“You stabbed me,” he growls, annunciating every word. “Do you have any idea what happens to stupid humans who stab me?”

“Wait a second,” I wheeze, sprinting to catch up to him. “Just… Ronan, wait.”

“The last man who dared put a blade in my body was nearly decapitated when I drove my sword through his neck. He returned to the earth as I burned his gods-forsaken corpse back to the ashes whence he came.”

We need to discuss this drama queen business again, it would seem.

“Ronan, don’t hurt him.”

“He stabbed me.” Wide and incredulous, his eyes are solid black as he turns to look at me. “Cameron, this manstabbedme,” he repeats as he shakes Reyes. “With a knife!”

“I know he did,” I soothe as my eyes fall to the wound on his shoulder. I’m still shaky, but seeing him up on his feet and strong enough to shake Reyes like a rag doll is allowing the panic to subside. “He also knocked you in the head with a pipe,” I add, narrowing my eyes at Reyes.

“Not helping,” Reyes whines, voice jarred as Ronan continues to jostle him.

I shrug, my eyes glued to the two of them to make sure there’s no brain damage happening. “Facts are facts, my man,” I say, before turning my attention back to Ronan.

“Ronan, before you do something you’ll regret, you need to know he thought you were holding me captive. He thought he was helping by rescuing me—”

“You dare take my mate from me?!” Ronan roars, the tendons in his neck drawn tight, veins throbbing, as he hauls Reyes off the ground by his shirt. His feet dangle in the air as Ronan bares his teeth, nose to nose and positively murderous.

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