Page 32 of Saved By The King's Gamma

“But he did,” I rasp, tears choking my voice. “He did hurt me, and it doesn’t stop. It never stops. Even now, I still feel him. I still hear him. I can’t get him out of my head.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, my body trembling violently as the fear claws its way back. “I feel… ruined. Like I’ll never be okay again. Like I’ll never be clean.”

Gannon’s arms wrap around me, pulling me into his chest. He doesn’t say anything right away—he just holds me, his warmth seeping into my cold, trembling body. His scent surrounds me, familiar and comforting in a way that nothing else is.

“You’re not ruined, Abbie,” he says quietly, his voice steady but filled with emotion. “You survived something no one should ever have to go through. What he did to you… it doesn’t define you. You’re still you.”

I shake my head against his chest, the tears flowing freely now. “I don’t feel like it. I feel… empty. Broken. Like there’s nothing left of me worth loving.”

Gannon’s grip tightens slightly, as if he’s trying to hold me together by sheer will alone. “You’re not broken,” he says firmly. “You’re hurt, and you’ll heal.”

His words pierce through the darkness clinging to me, and for a moment, I feel something other than fear—something fragile, like hope, though I don’t dare hold onto it too tightly.

“I’m here, Abbie,” Gannon whispers, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head. “And I swear, I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

I don’t know if I believe him. I don’t know if I can believe anyone after everything I’ve been through.

14

A FEW DAYS LATER

This is what I was worried about the moment she left those castle gates. Worried about the state she would return to me in, and I cursed myself for not going against the king, for not stepping in sooner. This could have all been avoided if I had just killed him. Kyson had given me the week off to help her adjust, yet she hardly spoke.

She hardly left the room at all. Almost as if it was her little bubble of safety. I knew it wasn’t healthy, and her silence was deafening, disturbing almost as if she was no longer here. She even refused to shift and go for a run. Even though I would catch her constantly looking out the window at the forest.

Deciding I needed to do something about it, I go to see Kyson, wanting to take Abbie away for a while and get her out of this castle. Her depressive state was only getting worse.

I wasn’t even sure if it was because of her lost bond or if she was just haunted by the memories. The king was leaving today. He had business to take care of, and I wanted to see him before he left in case he got held up and didn’t return for a few days.

Though I highly doubted he would be gone long, The queen wouldn’t handle his absence long, and I knew he hated leaving her. The fear in his voice when Liam and I got the call that she took off after Abbie floods me. Never had I felt so much fear. Fear for the queen, fear for Abbie. Because I knew the only reason Azalea would defy the king was for Abbie. That night has haunted me since.

Yet now, as I walk through the castle to the cars, I worry she is already dead inside. She is a shell of who she was before, and I just hope my plans to take her away from here, even if only for a little while, will bring her back to me. Walking outside, I find guards getting ready to leave.

I am standing beside the king’s car when he walks out. “I thought you had the week off?” Kyson asks me, and I quickly open his door. The king ducks his head, stepping inside.

“I do, but I wanted to speak to you before you left,” I tell him while peering in the car at him, when I notice Trey. Suspicions had been raised about him. Azalea snuck past him the night she went after Abbie, but not just that, so many other things like her being poisoned, his dislike for her that the king was blind to, though he had changed his tune since he learned she was a Landeena.

Liam didn’t trust him, and that was enough for me; I usually agreed once he sensed something was off about someone because he had a knack for reading people. Liam, I swear, has an inbuilt radar for bullshit and something did not add up with Trey.

Trey clears his throat behind the king, and I step aside and nod to the king, wanting to speak with him privately. The king climbs back out of his car.

“What do you need?” Kyson asks me as he steps out of the car.

“I want to take Abbie away for a few days but wanted to clear it with you first,” I tell him.

“Of course. Where are you taking her?”

“Don’t know yet, somewhere, but I will be back before my week off is over,” I tell him.

“Take your time, Gannon. I can manage without you. Besides, when was the last time you had time off, anyway?” he asks. I think for a second, and not even I can remember the last time I took time off.

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“Just make sure Azalea sees Abbie before she goes,” he tells me, and I nod just as Damian climbs in the car as well. The king turns away from me, about to climb in the car, when he opens the mind-link as I go to shut the door.

“Have Doc come to take blood from Azalea for me before you leave,” he tells me, and I nod.

“Still no luck with the tests?” I ask, and he shakes his head. “Will do. Anything else?” I ask.

---