Page 11 of Forging Bonds: Part Two

“Oh god,”Dimitri whispers.“How can she still speak like that about me, like I deserve it?”

“It’s Neith, she loves you,”I reply. Bluntly adding,“Neith in this state remembers who you were, not who you have been the last few years.”

Of course, Neith being Neith proves me wrong immediately, without even having heard my thoughts.

She frowns, bringing my attention back to her, “Dimitri’s a dick now, but my Dimi, he saved me. You both did. I miss my Dimi.”

The heartbreak in her voice undoes me and completely destroys Dimitri. His breath hitches as he chokes on the emotion that she’s just invoked in him. She still cares and that will be a fucking sucker punch to his fucking soul.

“Dimitri,”I growl, gaining his attention.“I’ve got her, and I will help you, I fucking promise. But right now, I need to concentrate on our Neith.”

“Keep her safe, brother,”Dimitri immediately replies.

“Always,”I promise.“It’s good to have you back, brother.”

With that, my mind is suddenly my own again.

My eyes refocus on Neith, and I see her smile softly, her eyes drifting closed before she sleepily opens them again.

Thank fuck the worst is over, she’s out of her memories, but not quite back to the present.

“Bye, Dimi,” she mutters, barely above a whisper.

I grin, “You sneaky little Love.”

She lazily shrugs, the smile stretching slightly, “I’m tired.”

I hold her weight as she drifts into a healing sleep. Lifting her up, I stride over to the bed and carefully place her on top. Covering her with her covers and making sure that her booted feet are on the towel that she’s got there. She would kill me if I didn’t.

Bending over, I gently kiss her forehead, “Sweet dreams, Love.”

“Love you, Coen,” she whispers sleepily.

My eyes fill with tears, this was always the only time when she would say the words, but the fact she has now, even though she is aware of the here and now again, means so much fucking more.

“I love you too, Neith,” I reply quietly.

I watch her for a few moments, my back to the guys as I make sure that she really is in a healing sleep and not about to spiral into another panic attack, like she has done occasionally in the past.

I want nothing more than to climb into bed with her, as Dimitri and I always have done after she has had a panic attack. We’d hold her for as long as she needed us to. I can’t do that right now though. I need to get back to Kylen before he realizes that I’m gone and questions me. I cannot allow him to pull Neith’s secrets out of me. I will die before I allow that to happen.

Finally, I face the guys.

They all look like they’ve been through the ringer, with tear-streaked faces and still extremely tense. It makes me happy, I now know without a single doubt in my mind that they care about Neith in the same way that I do. She’s safe.

“Is she okay?” River asks, his voice soft, his eyes on Neith, and his hands shaking.

I don’t hesitate as I open my arms, just like I always would when River was on the edge. As soon as my mind catches up to my actions, I wince and start to put my arms down. He’s not going to still want comfort from me.

“Oh no, you don’t, you offered the hug. I’m taking it,” River demands, making me smile.

He hugs me tightly, and I return it.

When he steps back, I say, “She’s okay now. Do not leave her alone, I mean it. We always stayed with her when this happened. She might havenightmares, and in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Neith doesn’t like to sleep alone anyway.”

I feel the command tugging at me and growl. “I have to go.”

“You don’t want to, do you?” Raiden asks me, studying me closely.

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