Page 123 of Forged Bonds

He thought he deserved it after what they’d done to him.

THIRTY-SIX

Freya

By the time I was confident I could do what I needed to do with Grey, my brain ached. The headache was constant, pounding at my temples. All attempts of my mates to soothe me failed, and they felt my discomfort as if it were their own. They could block me out — physical pain wasn’t something often shared along a mate bond, and would be easier to push away than emotional pain. None of them did.

Groaning, I collapsed back onto the couch, my hands shaking as I detached our minds. I’d been inside Emmett’s head, poking around memories far in the past. I never liked what I’d found. His childhood had been nothing short of horrifying.

“Was that better?” Emmett asked.

“It’s getting easier every time,” I responded.

He leaned forward from his perch on the sturdy coffee table, brushing his fingers through my hair. It was sweaty from the effort of exploring his mind, and I was worried about how strained I would be when I was fiddling with memories too. There were too many risks involved with me doing that to my men, so I could only practice the first part of what I needed to do.

His hand trailed down to rest on my shoulder, keeping physical contact. Em had been far more physical since I’d claimed him with my mark, and more casual with his affections. I enjoyed it, especially with how much easier it was to comfort him when I wasn’t worried about overwhelming him with touch.

Caspian had slipped out of his beast, then back in, and now out again, his bond a constant ache. Shan, at least, seemed fine. Worried and tired, but fine.

I again wished we’d discovered the telepathy before they’d been taken. I’d rather know what was happening to them, be it good or bad.

“Do you think you’re ready?” Nolan asked.

He was sitting on the opposite couch, wrapped up in Oswald. They’d barely taken their hands off each other either, as if scared one would be whisked away the moment they did.

I didn’t answer, taking the time to contemplate it.

This side of me was new. Thinking things through. Not making rash decisions or self-sacrificing for the people I loved. You’d think I would have grown up a little sooner, considering what I’d done to survive, but that wasn’t the case. Being an Omega had kept me in that state, in a way. My views on it and the childhood trauma surrounding what happened to Maisie hadn’t allowed me to grow in the way I should have.

“I’m ready enough,” I said finally. “They can’t wait any longer, and I have no way to practice the full scope of what I have to do, anyway. I’m as ready as I’ll get by only going into your minds.”

Nolan and Oswald had traumatic old memories, too. Matthias had let me explore his mind once, but pulled away in horror when I got deeper into his psyche than he’d expected me to.

“Caspian has been normal for a while, this time,” Emmett said. “That either means he’s about to go feral again, or they’re done with him for now.”

I grit my teeth. Anyone who had a hand in whatever the fuck they’d done to my sweet, innocent mate would get the full brunt of my wrath. Maybe not when we broke out Cas and Shan and killed Kylan. There would be too much chaos to track everyone down.

I’d follow them through all four realms if I had to.

Every last one of them.

“Ideally, he’s safe for now. If not, we’ll still be able to save him if he’s feral.”

Oswald looked skeptical. “How can you be certain of that? None of us have seen what he’s like. I’m not saying we can’t.” He rushed to clarify when I glared at him. “All I’m saying is it could complicate an already complicated situation, and we should have a plan if we have to restrain him.”

“Altair and Sky can do it,” Nolan said. “We’ll be too worried about hurting him. They’ll be able to get him out of there.”

“Are you saying they’ll hurt him while doing it?” I asked.

If they did, I might have to add the two of them to my hit list.

“Injured is better than dead, darling.” His tone was apologetic this time. “They will do their best to keep him uninjured and get him the fuck out, but if it comes down to it they’ll hurt him. And that’s what’s necessary, which is why none of us could do it.”

I didn’t fucking like it.

He was correct I didn’t have a choice. Only if Caspian went feral, though, and right now there were no signs of that.

Hopefully we got lucky and it stayed that way until we set the plan into motion.

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