The desperate terror in that mental plea makes my blood freeze in my veins. She’s calling for me through our pack bond, something she hasn’t done since she was a child.
The fact that she’s reaching out now, when she’s been so closed off, so determined to handle everything on her own, tells me that whatever’s happening is bad. Really bad.
I don’t think. I don’t question whether I actually heard her voice or if it was just my imagination. I just gun the engine and race back toward home at speeds that would terrify a sane person.
The bike screams through the night, eating up the miles between me and the girl who needs me.
When I reach the house, I can hear her before I even get the front door open.
“Please, Daxon, please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll be good. I’ll be obedient. Just please don’t hurt me anymore.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. Daxon. That name again. But there’s no one here except Athena, which means…
A nightmare. She’s having a nightmare about someone named Daxon, someone who hurt her badly enough that even in sleep, she’s
begging for mercy.
I take the stairs three at a time, my heart pounding with a mixture of rage and terror. Her bedroom door is locked, but that doesn’t even slow me down. One hard kick and the door flies off its hinges, splintering against the far wall.
She’s curled up on her bed in the fetal position, arms wrapped around her head like she’s trying to shield herself from blows that aren’t coming. At least, not in this room. Not in this reality.
“Please, don’t hurt me anymore,” she sobs, her voice breaking with each word. “I’m sorry. I promise it won’t repeat itself again.”
Each word she speaks makes me feel like someone’s ripping my heart out with their bare hands. Someone broke her. Someone took my strong, independent, beautiful Athena and broke her so thoroughly that even in her dreams, she’s still begging for mercy.
“Ath,” I call softly, sitting on the edge of her bed and reaching for her carefully. She doesn’t wake up, just keeps pleading with her nightmare tormentor.
“Ath, look at me.”
I gather her into my arms, pulling her against my chest, trying to surround her with safety and warmth. She’s so thin I can feel her ribs through her shirt, and it takes everything I have not to break down right there beside her.
“Tristan,” she whispers, and there’s so much pain in that single word.
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Chapter 17
“Yes. It’s me. I’m here. I’m here. My voice cracks despite my efforts to stay calm. I’m terrifled I might lose her, that whatever darkness
she’s fighting might pull her under before I can bring her back.
“Tristan, don’t let him hurt me anymore,” she continues, still lost in the nightmare.
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“Tell him to stop. I promise to be obedient. I promise never to go against him anymore. I won’t wear revealing clothes. Won’t go to work
either. I’ll be whatever he wants me to be. Tell him please. He should stop please.”
The words are like knives cutting into my soul. Obedient. Revealing clothes. Won’t go to work. This Daxon, whoever he is, wasn’t just physically abusive.
He was controlling, manipulative, systematically breaking down her sense of self until she believed she deserved whatever he did to her.
“I promise he won’t hurt you anymore,” I tell her, and I mean every word. “I’ll kill him before he does. Just wake up please. Look at me.”
Slowly, painfully, her eyes flutter open. They’re unfocused at first, still seeing whatever horror was playing out in her dreams. But then she sees me, really sees me, and something breaks open in her face.
“Tris,” she whispers.
That name. She hasn’t called me that since our parents‘ funeral, since the day we stood side by side watching them lower the four most important people in our world into the ground. The day I promised her I’d always be there for her, right before I broke that promise in the
worst possible way.
“I’m here,” I tell her, my voice thick with emotion. “Always will be. Look at me,
Ath.”
A tear falls from my eye and lands on her cheek, mixing with her own tears. I’m holding her like she’s the most precious thing in the
world, which she is.
She’s family by choice, not blood, but that makes it even stronger somehow. And I failed her. I let her walk away five years ago, and someone hurt her while I was here drowning in guilt and self–pity.
It was just a dream, but I can see in her face that it felt completely real to her. The pain, the terror, the helplessness – it’s all still there in her eyes, as vivid and immediate as if it had just happened.
She holds onto me as she cries, finally letting out all the fear and pain she’s been carrying alone. And I just hold her, rocking her gently, whispering reassurances and promises I intend to keep. No one will hurt her again. Not while I’m breathing.
As I feel her gradually relax in my arms, her sobs quieting to exhausted hiccups, I make a silent vow. I don’t know who Daxon is yet, but I’m going to find out. I’m going to learn everything about what happened to her during those five years she was gone.
–
And when I do find him – because I will find him he’s going to pay for every tear she’s shed, every nightmare he’s given her, every moment of fear he’s put in her heart.
18:26 Fri, Jan 2 d
Chapter 17
ging to pay with his hid
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
