Page 21 of His Claim
Her voice broke a little. “For so long, I thought they were gone. That I’d lost them the same way I’ve lost everyone else. Every night in those cells, I’d lie awake and wonder if I’d ever hear them laugh again. If they’d… if they’d already been bred until they broke.”
Her voice faltered, and she pressed her lips together hard, shaking her head.
“But now…” She looked up at me, her green eyes shimmering in the low light. “Now you tell me they’re alive. That they’ve found mates who love and protect them. That they’re… happy.” Her chest lifted with a shaky inhale. “God, Varek. Do you know what that does to me? To know they’re happy?”
I nodded once to show her that I understood. “I can imagine.”
“No,” she said sharply, her voice trembling with a force she probably didn’t even realize was there. “You can’t. Because you were never vulnerable the way we were; you couldn’t be. You were a man. You can never know the fear we felt every single day. All my life, they were what kept me sane. Lia and Kendra were my anchors. My family. And now—” she exhaled, a soundhalfway between a sob and a laugh, “now I know I didn’t lose them after all.”
For a moment, she didn’t look like the feral girl who’d tried to rip my throat out in the corridor. She didn’t look like the woman glaring daggers at me for marking her.
She just looked… relieved.
“They’re okay,” I said quietly. “And so are you.”
Her lips curved, faint and trembling, like the smallest smile might break her in two. She set her glass down and looked at me, eyes narrowing in thought.
“Tell me about them. The men. The ones who mated Lia and Kendra.”
I tilted my head. “You want to know if they’re worthy of your friends.”
“Of course I do.” Her chin lifted stubbornly. “They’re my family. I need to know they’re safe with those men. That they’re not—” She stopped, jaw tightening, the words choking off.
I understood. That they’re not like the wolves who caged her.
“They’re not,” I said firmly. “Silas—he’s the one with Lia—he’s as alpha as they come, but he’s not cruel. He’s fair, strong, a good leader, and he’d fight to his last breath for her. He damn near did. And Rowan, Kendra’s mate… He is as hard and rough and immovable as a mountain, but she softens him. You should see how he melts when he’s near her.”
Mariah’s eyes softened as she listened, though her mouth still pressed tight. “And you think they’re really… happy?”
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on the counter. “I don’t have to think it. I saw it. They chose those men as much as the bond chose them. They’re not just surviving, Mariah; they’re thriving.”
“That makes me feel better,” she whispered, almost to herself.
Silence settled between us, but it was warm. She held my gaze longer than before, and I let her.
“You’re not what I expected,” she admitted after a beat, her voice gentler than it had been all night.
I arched a brow. “And what did you expect?”
Her mouth curved faintly. “A monster.”
I huffed out a low laugh, though there was no humor in it. “Iama monster when I need to be. Make no mistake. But with you…” Now it was my throat that tightened, the words nearly sticking. “With you, I don’t want to be.”
She looked down at her hands, then back at me, her cheeks tinged a faint rosy pink.
I stood, breaking the spell before it unraveled. “You’ve been through enough tonight. You should take a bath.”
Her brows shot up. “A bath?”
“Yes.” I gestured toward the narrow door off to the side. “Come. I’ll show you.”
I led her to the small bathroom tucked away in the corner of my quarters. The lighting was soft, the fixtures salvaged but surprisingly intact. A deep copper tub sat against the wall, and a stack of towels, clean and folded, rested on the shelf. Her eyes widened, as if she’d expected filth and grime from a mere male.
I opened the cabinet, pulling out bottles of shampoo and conditioner, setting them on the counter beside the tub. “There’s soap, too.”
She looked at the bottles, then at me, lips parting in surprise.
“For you,” I said simply. “You deserve more than cages and filth. Start with this.”
