Page 102 of Bound By Pain
CHAPTER 41
Creed and Lex return mid-afternoon.Both looking forlorn as they approach me. Nervous energy crackles around the room, setting me on edge. I straighten, moving to the edge of the couch.
Something happened, I can feel it.
Kneeling before me, Creed presses his head to my knees. “Marcus left another threat.”
I’m not surprised. That asshole has been trying to terrorize me for weeks. Should I be afraid of him? Probably. Am I? No. Not with my mates at my sides and the security of our home to protect me.
“Okay.”
He lifts his head, thick lips twisted into a tight frown. “The message was left at my foster family’s home.”
Nodding, I drag my nails across his scalp, watching his eyes flutter from the contact. “He wanted to remind you I’m not the only person he can use to hurt you.”
Lex clears his throat, a guarded look on his face. “Except it wasn’t Creed’s loved ones he was threatening.”
Glancing between the two of them, I grow frustrated. They are trying to tell me while also protecting me from the information. Which means we are getting nowhere.
“Just tell me.”
“When was the last time you spoke with your parents?”
The world stops turning. Frozen as my brain tries to comprehend their question. My lungs burn, refusing to work long enough to let me take a breath.
“What?”
“We contacted Donovan. He is on a flight-”
I shove my way between them, diving for my phone where I’d left it sitting on the coffee table. Frantic fingers dial each of my parents’ phone numbers. None of them answers.
“No, no, no!” I toss the device to the ground, hands clawing at my face. This can’t be real, right? It’s just a dream. Soon, I’ll wake up, still wrapped in my mate’s arms.
“Sabine, enough!” Shiloh barks, grabbing my arms and locking me against his chest. “Breathe.”
My body is forced to follow his command, sucking in a deep lungful of oxygen. The burning in my lungs eases, but it does little to quell the panic coursing through my blood. “I-I-”
Hands turn my body, pressing my back against Shiloh’s chest so his purr can rattle through me. Orion’s golden amber eyes bore into me. “We know nothing for certain yet, butterfly.”
“He’s right, sunshine,” Ridley agrees, fingers brushing down my cheek to wipe my tears away. I hadn’t realized I was crying. Too numb to feel the wetness on my skin. “We’ve been cooped up for your heat, so they wouldn’t have reached out to us if theywere going anywhere. Why don’t you call Omen? Maybe she’s heard from them?”
Shaking my head, I want to deny him. If Donovan hasn’t heard from them, then Omen wouldn’t have either. He leaves me no choice when he opens my phone and dials my best friend’s number, pressing it against my ear before it connects.
“Was it everything you dreamed of?”
Hearing her voice cracks the surface of my numbness, flooding me with all the worry and fear I’ve been suppressing. A sob rips from my lips.
“Bea? What’s wrong?”
“H-have you h-heard from Mom or one of the dads?” The words are unsteady, choked around the sounds of my distress.
“Your parents? I spoke with Pops a few days ago. Dad was starting his heat, so they were flying him out to Dromir’s vacation island for a vacation. Why? What’s going on?”
Relief takes my knees from beneath me, only my Alpha’s arms keeping me upright. They’re safe.
I can’t answer Omen, can’t explain, crying too hard to form a coherent response. Ridley takes the phone from my hand and walks to the window, quietly explaining the situation.
“I’m going to call Donovan,” Creed tells me, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I’m sorry for causing you so much distress, kitten.”
