Page 51 of Feral
“I understand. They fucked with us first.”
“I can barely contain myself.”
“Focus on getting your mate to safety. We’ll be here waiting for you.”
“Thank you.”
I end the call and finish packing up his toiletries. By the time I’m carrying him down the stairs, a black SUV is tearing into the parking lot, coming to a screeching stop in front of me. The door opens and Thorn steps out. Kyson waves from the passenger side with a sympathetic look on his face.
Thorn opens the back door. “Come on, brother. Let’s get your man to safety.”
“How did you find me?”
“We’re connected, my guy.”
“Thank you.”
“No thanks needed. We’re family.”
Some of the tension eases as I gently lay Yannis in the back before joining him. His head rests on my lap while Thorn drives like the madman he is to get us back to our building. After a few minutes, Yannis’s eyelids flutter and he cracks them open.
“Hale,” he whispers.
“I’m here, love. You’re safe now.”
“H-hurts.” He flinches, groaning. “Fuck.”
“I’ll take care of you.” I lean down and press a kiss to his forehead. “I promise they’ll pay for what they did.”
“I…know. Safe now.”
“Poor guy,” Kyson says, glancing back. “He’ll be okay though, Hale. Thank the gods he has you.”
“Not the worst kind of boyfriend to have,” Thorn says.
Yannis smiles, just a little, but enough to notice it. “Boy…friend?”
My heart clenches from the mixture of joy and concern. “We’re so much more than that. I can’t wait to tell you when you’re better.”
“Not…leaving me?”
“Never.”
“Never,” he whispers, then falls slack in my arms, pulled under once again. The pain he must be experiencing stirs another wave of rage within me.
We make it back to the House of Orpheus and I carry Yannis upstairs, taking him straight to my apartment. I’m followed by the two witches, all of my brothers, and their mates. I lay Yannis down on the sofa.
“Can you do something, Viv?”
“Of course.” She rubs my arm. “Give us a few minutes.”
Viper kneels down beside him, holding her hands over him with her eyes closed. She starts at his head and moves down to his feet. As she moves back up, she hovers over his chest and then his face.
“Broken ribs and nose,” she says. “Lots of bruising, but his organs are good.”
Relief washes over me. “Thank fuck.”
Vivienne is mixing several liquids in a bowl. She sniffs it then adds a bit of powder, making it swirl and bubble. “It won’t taste good, but it’ll do the job.” She puts her hand under Yannis’s head, lifting him gently.