Page 31 of Forbidden Bonds
“I understand what an agoraphobic is,” I say gently. “But what I don’t understand is why you appear to be blaming yourself for something you can’t control.”
His laugh is derisive.
“You think I won’t want to be mated to you?” I say slowly.
His eyes snap to mine. The block that was in his mind shifts away, and a scene plays out?—
He was out of his seat, slamming through the door, and racing along the corridor at a dead run. The teams he had sent to the basement were too far away. They wouldn’t get there in time.
He skidded to a stop as he reached the doors that would lead into the underground parking garage.
She was out there, and he needed to go there to get her back.
“It’s just a fucking door!” He gripped his hair, angry with himself. He was a useless piece of shit. Why couldn’t he step outside and collect one helpless little omega?
As he palmed the plate, the door slid open, and he stepped outside.
His head started swimming the moment his foot passed beyond the barrier. His pulse spiked, the air outside feeling thinner, sharper, like sandpaper lining his throat. A prickling heat crawled over his scalp and into his neck, the kind of creeping flush that heralded a full-blown panic attack. The weight in his chest became crushing, as if unseen hands werepressing him back toward safety. His face swung left where the elevator opened with a ping, a hundred paces away. She stopped dead as she spotted him.
He shook his head. Willing her not to run. His heart was racing at double time, and his chest heaved with the strain of pulling enough air into his lungs. A cold sweat enveloped his body, and he began to shake violently.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about being outside. It’s not even properly outside. The parking garage was still technically inside, right?
Only his body was having none of it.
The omega’s countenance softened. Relieved. She was relieved to see him. Thank fuck! He didn’t know what the fuck had happened in Lucian’s apartment, but his brother’s mate was wearing regular clothes, and there was a backpack on her shoulder.
He motioned her to come to him since he couldn’t get any words out, and his feet were rooted to the spot—the only direction they were willing to take him was the two paces needed to reach the safety of the door.
She approached him with slow, hesitant steps that gradually gained speed.
He didn’t recognize the ground vehicle as a threat at first—the parking garage was full of them, after all—but something in the way it drove, the acceleration when it should have been decelerating… His perception warped, sound flattening and edges blurring, as if the world itself was tipping under his feet. He started to walk toward her but soon broke into a run.
The big, blacked-out vehicle screeched to a halt. She froze, head swinging toward it. It wasn’t Lucian’s, but perhaps she thought it was.
“Run!” His throat finally cooperated with his needs. Her eyes flashed to him. He was closer now, and he saw her eyes widen in shock as all four doors opened and alphas spilled out.
One, two, three, four.
He was still too far away.
Dropping the backpack, she ran to him.
Too late.
One man caught her around the waist. She screamed, and it churned his stomach. Where the fuck was the backup? How the fuck long did it take them to get their asses here?
Fuck!
He had nothing, no weapons—nothing. He wasn’t even wearing shoes. He tackled the nearest alpha as they tossed Madelyn into the back of the SUV. He had no real plan beyond trying to delay their leaving. They both crashed on the ground. He didn’t see the bat coming for his head until it connected.
The world swam, his ears rang, and the rest of the blows landed against the backdrop of her high, terror-steeped scream.
He tried to fight, to roll away, but there were too many, and his world faded to black.
Tears trickle down my cheeks. His emotions pummeled the bond. Impotence. Rage. Self-loathing.
The woman was Lucian’s mate. She was taken. Rhett was beaten trying to save her. How can he not see how impossibly brave that was? And she was safe now, with Lucian, again. The terrible experience in her past. Maybe she blamed Rhett? But no, his mind offered no recriminating words from the young omega, nor from his brother.
