Page 24 of Runt's Haunted Ride
"What do you mean nothing I can do? How do we break the binding?" I was going to do whatever needed to be done to get Kai free.
She gazed into my eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh, Jack, there's nothing that can be done. In order to break the bond, Mortis would have to die. And he has so many wards and protections on him, the only things I think will work are a blessed bullet or a dragon's fire."
"I don't even know if dragons are real," I said, thinking how cool it would be to meet a dragon.
"They are," Kai said, wiping her tears. "I'd always hoped for a mate. And now that I have one, I can't be with him." She put her head on my chest and cried as I held her.
The mate bond flared between us. It felt like fire in my veins, like lightning in my bones. It was everything I'd been missing my entire life. She was supposed to be mine to protect, mine to cherish, mine to keep safe. And instead, she'd been trapped here, tortured here, dying here while I'd been living my miserable existence in the Silverbacks, completely unaware that my other half was suffering.
"I'm so sorry," I said into her hair, breathing in that cinnamon and smoke scent that was purely her. "I'm so fucking sorry I didn't find you sooner."
She pulled back slightly to look up at me, her hand coming up to cup my face. "It wouldn't have mattered. I'm bound to him, and the carnival constantly moves. So in a few days, I'll be gone. I'm just happy to have had a little time with you. Something to remember you by. But now," her expression turned stern, "you have to leave. Right now, Jack. If Mortis finds you here, if herealizes you're my mate, he'll kill you. Or worse—he'll bind you too, use you as leverage to keep me compliant. Please, I can't have that. Go."
Every instinct I had rebelled against the idea of leaving her. My gorilla was snarling, clawing, demanding I stay, fight, and tear apart anyone who tried to keep us from our mate. But I could see the terror in her eyes, and that crushed me.
"I'm not leaving you here," I said firmly. "I'll go now if I have to, but I'm coming back for you, Kai. I'm going to find a way to break that binding and get you out of here."
"You can't," she said, tears flowing again. "I told you. I've done the research, back when he let me have an iPad and read books. Mortis uses blood magic, voodoo, and dark spells woven together in ways I don't understand. I've tried everything. I've looked for weaknesses, tested the limits, even tried to end it by refusing to burn, but nothing works. And the only way out is his or my death. Please accept that he owns me, completely."
"No," I said, the word coming out as a growl. "Nobody owns you. You own you. You're my mate, Kai. My mate. And I don't care how powerful Mortis is or how strong his magic is—we'll find a way to break it. I promise you."
She stared up at me, and I watched hope war with despair in those amber eyes. She wanted to believe me. I could see it, feel it. But three years of torture and captivity had beaten the hope nearly out of her.
I needed to give her something to hold onto. Some proof that I meant what I said that I wouldn't abandon her like everyone else had.
"I vow to you, Kai Ashborne," I said, putting every ounce of conviction I possessed into the words, "on my life, on my honor, on everything I am—I will get you free. However long it takes, whatever it costs, I, your mate, will break that binding and get you out of here. I will not let you burn alone anymore."
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, but this time there was something different in her expression. Not just hope, but determination. Like my vow had rekindled something inside her that had been dying.
"Alright," she whispered.
She leaned up toward me at the same moment I leaned down, and our lips met in our first kiss. Her lips were warm on mine. I pulled her into me and opened my mouth farther. She wrapped an arm around my neck, and I knew right there that there was no going back now. I would free her or die trying. I would not spend the rest of my life without my mate. We'd suffered enough. Both of us, in our own ways. It was time for us to be happy, to enjoy our life together.
I could feel her heart racing against my chest as our tongues danced. When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, I rested my forehead against hers.
"Jack, please go."
"Fine," I hated myself for saying. "But only to keep you safe. Kai, you're not fighting this on your own anymore. We have each other now."
She pulled back to look me in the eyes. "Please be careful. Mortis is more dangerous than you can imagine. He's not just powerful—he's ancient, cunning, and he takes pleasure in destroying the things people love. If he realizes what you are to me..."
"I'll be careful," I promised. "But I'm coming back, Kai. It might not be tomorrow because they have us rotating. If not tomorrow, I'll find a way back here the next day. In the meantime, we need to come up with a plan. Meanwhile, can I bring you anything?"
"Maybe a piece of chocolate?"
I expected her to say warmer clothes, a better blanket, anything other than chocolate.
"You bet," I told her. "Everything will be alright."
She nodded and wiped away more tears.
I turned and walked toward the tent entrance, every step an act of will. Just before I reached the flaps, I heard her voice, soft but clear.
"Jack?"
"Yes?" I turned to face her.
I looked back, memorizing the sight of her—my mate, my other half, my reason for everything that would come next in my life.
