Page 13 of Celestial Alphas (Nexus #2)

Chapter

Twelve

H e’s standing over me like a dark shadow, pulling all the light from the open doorway into him. I can’t touch the light. He’s taken it all, just like my life. What little freedom I had is crushed under him and his ownership of me. I’m starving and everything is twisting thanks to the hunger, but I refuse to ask him to feed me. Occasionally, soup and bread are thrown into my cell, but not enough to keep me from losing a serious amount of weight. I can feel all my ribs now, and my knees are bony. I don’t like being this thin, and I miss burgers. I miss chocolate cake and my dad’s singing in the car. Severi, the prince of the Vian, is empty of any genuine emotions other than one burning hate for me. His eyes are glowing, or I’m imagining the brown depths glowing. My imagination has been weird after being trapped in here. “Are you going to let your Nexus out yet?”

“No,” I snarl at him like an animal. I haven’t seen daylight in…I don’t know how long, only that it’s been a long time. I haven’t seen my parents in a long time either, but I know they’re here somewhere. “Let my parents go!”

“Okay.” I watch him with distrust. All Vian are monsters, just like me, and they can’t be trusted at their word. “Would you show me your Nexus if I let them go?” I grit my teeth and put my middle finger up at him. My parents told me to never let my Nexus fully shift in front of him or let him see the extent of what I can do. They never told me why, or what scared them so much, but they made me promise. I swore not to reveal my Nexus. But Annie? “ They’re very protective of you, not revealed a single secret of yours…you should be proud of that. Torture usually gets people to give up their secrets. It doesn’t take them long. But not your parents, not you. You’re making me look bad.” He steps closer. “But your mother slipped up this morning, and it’s why I’m here. She said you don’t like bugs, things that crawl over you.”

Fuck. “And?”

“One of my friends picked up a very interesting power from a Nexus. Yours is going to come out to play, or he won’t stop using his power on you. All you have to do is reveal her and this all stops, Gwenieve.”

“I’d rather die.” My bland comment only echoes off the walls as he leaves, shutting the door and the light with him. I’m not scared of the dark, well, not anymore, but I hate the idea of being trapped in here anymore. Fear crawls up my throat, choking me before I realise it’s not fear at all, it’s bugs, spiders, cockroaches, ladybugs, everything creepy crawling all over my skin, filling the room until it’s nothing but the sound of them, the feel of them against my skin, everything making me feel insane. I scream and scream and scream, but they don’t stop, they don’t ever stop.

“Wake up!”

I gasp, sitting up, coming face to face with Onyx leaning over me, his hair messy and his eyes glazed. He’s shirtless and my mouth parts as I get a good look at his muscled chest, the ripples of muscle down his flat, toned stomach before my sight is cut off by low hanging black pants on his hips. “You’re having a bad dream, but you’re here with me. You’re awake now. Look, Finn’s on the floor.” I follow Onyx’s direction, my heart pounding so fast and hard in my chest I wonder how I’m breathing. Finn’s massive brown bear is laid out on the floor, snoring lightly. “You’re safe.”

Placing my hand on my heart, I will it to calm as I hear Onyx repeat over and over that I’m safe, until the ringing of my heartbeat drifts out of my ears. It hits me quickly that I’m not with Severi, I’m not a teenager anymore, and I’m not trapped with bugs everywhere. The bugs were never real, just a Vian stolen power, but it felt real. The nightmares still do. My cheeks burn with embarrassment. “I’m fine. Leave.”

“No.” He sits back from me. “What happened in that dream? Did you die? Is that what gives you nightmares?”

Onyx must have hit his head if he thinks I’m suddenly going to open up to him after the crap he has pulled. “Do you think I trust you enough to tell you what haunts me?”

“Yes, because I want it to haunt me, not you.” He touches my cheek, but I pull away from his touch. “You told me about the death thing. I know you did that in case you died.”

“I don’t trust you. I didn’t tell you that I died and came back to let you in on some kind of secret to make you feel better. That was never the point.” I crawl back on the bed, pulling the quilt up and over me. I’m still in Onyx’s borrowed clothes, which feels intimate now that we are in a bed together. He leans back, choosing to sit on the end of the bed, watching me.

“You pulled me into your nightmare. I couldn’t see what it was, but you were in a dark room and screaming. I managed to pull myself out of it because I knew it wasn’t real. It was Nexus power. Your dreamwalking abilities, so far, extend outside of your sleep, just so you know. It’s unheard of. They give me a connection to Finn’s mind when you’re close, and I was able to speak into his mind. I bet I could speak to yours if I really pushed.” That’s not good. I do not want him in my head. “I was asking about your nightmare so that we can talk, because sometimes when people talk, they feel better about things. I want to help you feel better.”

“You gave me up to your father!” I harshly whisper. “You gave me up, and I thought you hated me. I’m not sure you don’t.” I gulp. “If anyone took you and hurt you, they would already be dead.”

“I never hated you, and fuck am I sorry I made you think I did because I was angry. If it was your father, would you kill him?” He clears his throat when I can’t answer. “Gwen, if you can forgive Finn, maybe?—”

“I did what I thought was best at fifteen. I did what I thought would save you in the long run, because I didn’t want you getting hurt and I needed you alive.” I look down at the sheets. “And the first thing you did was give me up to your father. You must know what he’s like, and you still left me. At least Finnegan did something, and I never said I forgave him. Pretty smiles and one orgasm are not enough to make me become his mate.”

I mean, my Nexus was sold on the orgasm because Finn is her favourite, but I’m ignoring her. She is shit at making decisions and thinks with our vagina.

Onyx gets up and comes over to me, standing straight. “It was meant to only be for one night, and we were seriously outgunned. I—look…no.” He clears his throat. “Weak boys make excuses, and I’m not sitting here making a ton of fucking excuses about what I did, because it was wrong. I fucked up and I will be forever sorry that I ever gave him an opportunity to hurt you. I believe in doing things the right way, the just way, and I believe that Starlight City has to be a stand for the Nexus, for our people. I want you to understand that, even with those beliefs, I’d choose you over the city. I’d choose you, and being here is me doing that. I have made that choice.”

“I don’t believe you,” I whisper back. “I believe that you want to please your father. I believe that…you just don’t know me, and I do not know you. I’m sorry I pulled you into my nightmare, but you can leave now.” My stomach rumbles and I’m surprised when he actually leaves. I don’t know why it hurts that he does. I rest my head back on the headboard and quietly listen to Finn’s bear snoring. Onyx comes back though, only ten minutes later, and pops a tray onto the bed in front of me.

“Stop giving me snacks like we are friends. We aren’t friends.” I glare at his handsome, freshly showered face as he hands me a plate full of all my favourite foods. Chocolate cake with extra frosting, toast with both strawberry and raspberry jam on top because that’s the only way jam toast should be eaten, and finally, a mixture of cheeses with crackers. It’s unhealthy and amazing, but I’m not accepting it from Onyx.

“I agree. We’re mates. Eat the food, you look hungry.” He dips his finger in the frosting and brings it to his mouth. I watch for far, far longer than I should as he licks it off, and I know my cheeks are burning when he smirks.

“Rejected,” I cough.

“Mine,” he growls right back before confidently walking away. He knows I’m going to eat the food. Asshole. He pauses by the door and looks back. “Alek’s going with you to the market.”

“Says who?” I arch an eyebrow. “I think it’s probably best I go alone. You don’t understand what it’ll be like there. None of you do and you’re all too…good for that place.”

“You don’t know us well enough, Gwen. Alek will be fine.” He leans on the doorframe. “For the record, I think we should all go with you, but you said only one. Why only one?”

I shrug a shoulder. “It’s just the rules of the market. You come in pairs. No more, no less. You don’t draw blood unless you wish to stay forever. You don’t fight. Everyone is at peace within the market, or you don’t leave the market at all and belong to the fair of the night.” I clear my throat. “I’ve seen people there who are trapped, chained to the very ground or to the folk. They must have broken the rules, and I don’t think risking any breaking of the rules is a good idea when we need their help. The folk are strange, ancient creatures, and my Nexus hides from them. That should tell you enough.”

He processes that. “Alright. Eat and get some sleep.”

“No,” I snap.

“Don’t argue about everything, Gwen.”

“Honestly, that makes me want to argue more. See, this is the part of getting to know me. You’ll soon learn that I will argue any and every point with you. Specifically you.”

He smirks at me once before slipping out of the room. Only when I’m sure he’s gone and he can’t hear me do I eat the food, happily enjoying all of it before lying back down, falling straight into a calm sleep. When I wake up, Finnegan is shaking my shoulder. “You need to go with Alek now. The rangers are checking every tower in Starlight for you, and this one is next. You’ve got a few minutes to get ready.”

“Where’s Onyx?” I yawn, pulling on the hoodie Finnegan offers me, which is massive and falls to my knees and smells like him. I like it.

Finnegan kisses my cheek softly before taking my hand and practically dragging me out of the room, to the corridor, where Alek is waiting. “Onyx is going to distract his father from looking for you and noticing Alek is missing. I’m going to make sure no one is following you out.”

“It’s weird to have people helping me,” I admit. “Even weirder that it’s you.”

Alek offers me his hand. “Where are we heading, Gwen?”

“To Edinburgh. The entrance to the market is near the city.” I take his hand, and my Nexus grumbles in my mind at leaving Finnegan and Onyx behind. I’m not sure who wants to see them both again more. My Nexus or me.