Page 66 of Immortal Bastard

Eleazar. He’d come back for her.

Fear choked her as she worried for her friend. Cer would come for her and destroy anyone who tried to stop him. Then he would punish her.

“Easy, friend. He can’t hurt you anymore. You have my word and my protection.”

She shook, certain Cer would find them. “No.” She needed to go back.

“Adriel, you’re safe.” The lie echoed through her panic. “Adriel…Adriel? Adriel are you listening to me?”

Adriel’s breath hitched as she blinked at Eleazar, her mind returning from those terrifying memories and taking solace in her safe surroundings and the affirming presence of her dear friend. Only because of his interference was she alive today.

“I apologize, Eleazar. I slipped away for a moment.”

“There’s no sense in remembering those times.”

Her heart pinched. “I’ll never forget.” It was her duty to remember what that monster was capable of.

The males that rescued her left her mate quartered and buried alive. It would have taken decades for that kind of damage to heal, longer without proper nourishment. And while the males that avenged her believed it would give Cerberus the necessary time to think and repent, she knew him better than anyone. His only thoughts would be toward revenge.

She smiled at Eleazar. “Nor will I forget what you did for me, my friend.” My savior.

“Leave the past in the past, Adriel.”

A year ago, she would have agreed, but now things were different. “My mind will not rest until I’m certain he can’t find me.”

Dane was proof that Cer was still alive and, once again, strong enough to litter the immortal population with his tainted seed. He likely had several bastards roaming the earth, but she could never consider her son his. Christian was an honorable male. She raised him as her son alone, and Cerberus could not know he existed.

Eleazar was the only one who knew the extent of the evil her mate had put her through. He had nursed her back to health, diligently worked to mend her mind, and taught her many disciplines that made her stronger than most female immortals. He promised her a new life, in a new world.

Eleazar sighed. “Adriel, I know you are frightened. But if Dane’s life is any indication, Cerberus has been free for at least two decades and has yet to find you.”

“Dane was in Jim Thorpe when we found him, Eleazar. That means Cerberus has been close to here. What if he’s simply biding his time?”

“I don’t believe that’s the case. If he wanted you, he would have collected you by now.” Hesitating, he chose his words carefully. “He would know your blood, Adriel. Cerberus is strong. Stronger than any male I’ve ever met. But no one is unstoppable. We outmatched him before and we’ll do it again if need be. You’re safe here. This is your home.”

“He could surprise us—”

“We’ll sense him coming. You forget, when we buried him alive, there were twelve of us. Now, there are hundreds on your side. The Order will protect you.”

“Like you’ve protected that witch downstairs?”

His head snapped up. “Who told you about that?”

“Do you know who it is? Or should I ask, do you know who they are?”

His scowl darkened. “Do you? You trespass in more minds than I.”

She wouldn’t apologize for eavesdropping. It was sometimes the only way to protect herself and stay informed. Most of the males preferred to keep the females completely in the dark. “I have my suspicions. The younger males aren’t involved. Whoever’s hurting that girl is more than capable of guarding his thoughts, that tells me he’s at least a century old. Whoever it is, they have to be punished.”

“They will be. Regardless of her crimes, the plebe is under our protection.”

Their archaic tactics only proved how unsafe females truly were. Not much had changed from when Adriel was young and taken in the middle of the night in the presence of her entire family.

While her Amish lifestyle protected them in terms of privacy, it left them vulnerable in many other ways. “Eleazar, I want a firearm.”

He tensed. “No.”

“But if I—”

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