Page 157 of Dragon Boss (Paranormal Delights 2)

“Come here,” Bash said.

Spooky blinked up at the bear shifter and smiled. He crawled to him and Bash enveloped him in his arms. Eldon smiled as he pulled the cup back from Gamble and went to fill it again.

“Where is Arden?” Spooky asked, his head swiveled around as if everything finally clicked. The moment he spotted Arden the familiar slipped from Bash’s arms.

Gamble turned to look as well. “He’s okay?”

The crack in Gamble’s voice was noticeable and Eldon placed a hand on the witch’s shoulder.

Eldon licked his lips. “Yes he just hasn’t woken up yet.”

Gamble’s brows knitted together.

“Micha!” Spooky moved around Arden and squeezed his way between the two of them. His hands trembled as he touched the sleeping angel. “What about Micha?” The familiar brushed his fingers along Micha’s bandaged back.

“What happened?” Gamble asked.

Eldon wasn’t sure the witch remembered Micha taking to the sky to bring Arden back. He sighed not wanting to relive the ordeal but knew there was no escaping the nightmare. It would forever be ingrained in his mind. Bash moved around the bed and shook his head and Eldon silently thanked him.

He let Bash tell the story as Eldon busied himself making his way to the door and requested more water and food be sent up.

“Has he woken up?” The guard asked.

Eldon shook his head. “Please tell the queen that he is still sleep. Gamble and Spooky are up.”

He bowed and Eldon closed the door.

“That crazy fucking angel,” Gamble grumbled.

Eldon couldn’t disagree. What Micha had done was reckless but without him, they might have lost both of them. His stomach clenched just thinking about it.

Spooky cupped Arden’s face and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Wake up please.” The familiar stroked Micha’s head tucking the wavy brown strands behind his ear. “You too, we aren't complete without you.”

Wasn’t that the truth?Eldon just hoped they opened their eyes soon. He was barely holding on.

Spooky strokedhis fingers over Arden’s stubbled cheeks willing him to wake up. Every minute that ticked by felt like torture. He switched his attention to Micha, trying to coax the angel awake. But nothing.

“So are we just forgiving him?” Gamble asked.

Gazing up, Spooky looked at all of them and then back down to Micha. “Which one?” He muttered.

“Micha,” Gamble whispered. “Arden is…”

“Different?” Spooky asked. He felt the conflicted emotions that raged inside of Gamble and he completely understood. They had all been manipulated, lied to, and betrayed. And Arden? He was different from who they thought he was.

But Arden was still Arden. He was the man that had allowed Spooky to stay in the host club when he could have turned him out into the streets. Arden was the cranky bastard that insisted on driving him crazy and ordering him around all while denying that he enjoyed the familiar’s touch. He was the man that Spooky had fallen in love with.

“Arden is forgiven in my book,” Spooky whispered as he gazed down at the dragon. “He’s spent so many lonely years trying to fix his wrongs.” He gazed up at the rest of them. “And he tried to push us away too, all of us just so he could suffer more.” Spooky shook his head. “I won’t allow that anymore. As for Micha,” he mused as he gazed at the angel. “He could have abandoned us and went off to live a new life. But he tried to stop this.” Shaking his head, he scoffed. “Thinking back on the time I caught him in Arden’s office, I thought he’d just been snooping. But now I know why he’d looked so scared. Janek was manipulating him. If we could bring that asshole back to life I would kill him all over again.”

“Breathe,” Bash said as he walked over and stroked his big fingers through Spooky’s messy hair. “He’s gone now.”

“Yeah,” Spooky muttered as his heart squeezed. “And all he left behind was death, destruction, and pain.”

The room went stone quiet and the air felt heavy. Spooky couldn’t take back the words that he’d said and maybe he didn’t even want to. Each of them was now broken just a little more than they had been in the past. Those kinds of scars hung around forming bigger cracks.

And each of them was already on the edge.

“Fuck!” The Dragon shot up out of sleep, panting wildly, his amber eyes looking around wildly.

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