Page 6 of Shaped By Darkness

"Hey, Serena, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." He moves to try and sit up again, but I press a hand to his shoulder, keeping him down, and thankfully, he doesn't fight me. He presses a hand to my cheek, his thumb gently brushing away the tears as they fall. I know he's trying to comfort me, but that only makes me cry harder.

Fuck, I'm a mess.

"I thought..." I choke on the words, unable to get them out as the image of him lying on the ground, bleeding, dying, once again, fills my mind.

He doesn't rush me; instead, he watches me, silently offering me his support the way he always has.

"I thought you were going to die." I let my eyes fall closed as the pain of that confession washes over me. Losing Lyle is like losing a piece of myself; it's as if someone's ripped away a part of my soul. I have to believe he's only gone for now, not forever.

But death... there's nothing anyone can do about it. It's the one guarantee of the universe; no matter who or what you are, you will die, eventually.

I just can't stomach the idea of that being now for any of my guys. I'd rather take his place a thousand times over than have to live a life without him, without any of them.

"Serena." Sol's voice is stern but not unkind, pulling me from my emotional spiral.

He's quiet until I look up, once again meeting his eyes, which are so full of warmth they take my breath away.

Has Sol always looked at me like that?

Damn, am I really that blind?

"I'm not going anywhere, okay?" He says it, and I know he believes it. I can see it in his eyes.

But he doesn't know what it was like from our side, not just for me, but for all of us. To see him lying on the ground, unmoving, his shifter healing having failed him as he almost bled to death, while all we could do was rush him to someone else for help.

I never want to feel that helpless again.

"Hey." Sol taps my nose, making me go cross-eyed. "Stop that." A smile pulls at his lips, and fuck if it isn't the best thing I've seen in days.

“I can’t,” I shake my head, trying and failing to do what he said. The image of him bleeding on the ground refuses to leave me. The same way I can still see Lyle. “You didn’t see the way—”

He doesn’t let me finish, pushing up just enough to press his lips to mine. The second our lips meet, my mind goes blank, blissfully empty, and I’m lost to him. I couldn’t pull away if I tried, but I wouldn’t dare. No, I’d stay here forever if I could.

My eyes fly open when he lets out a soft groan, and just like that, I remember why we can’t do this, at least not right now. I press a hand to his shoulder, pushing him back down onto the pillow.

“I don’t need to see. I know it was scary for you, and I’m sorry, Carrots, but I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

I’m shaking my head before he’s even finished talking because he doesn’t know that; he can’t possibly say that.

“With Draven after me, you don’t know that. I’m putting you all in danger just by being around you—”

Again, he presses his lips to mine, silencing me. This time, I groan in annoyance, and he pulls back with a smile.

Asshole.

“I’m serious, Sol.”

“So am I, Serena. I almost died, and the only thing I could think about was you. I spent what I thought might be my last moments wondering what life might have been like if I hadn’t always been afraid of my feelings for you. Wondering if maybe you were meant to be my mate, too.”

His words hit me, and I can’t think of a single thing to say. I have no idea if we’re meant to be mated as well, but I can’t help but want to find out.

“I love you, Serena, and I would happily die for you if I had to, but I’d much rather live for you if given the choice.” He once again gently wipes away a tear from my cheek, but this time I’m not sad, not really.

No, this time, it’s his words that got me.

Who knew Sol could be so fucking touchy-feely?

He presses back up as if to kiss me again, and as much as I might want him to, I can’t let him keep straining. He needs to rest.

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