Page 11

11

DEXTER

S team clung to my skin as I stepped out of the shower. The cool air of the sandstone-walled bathroom sliced through the lingering heat coiled around me, making goosebumps pebble my arms.

The steady hum of my matebond with Pandora was a fucking lifeline, pushing reassurance that she was okay through my veins. Her happiness flickered along the bond, soothing, but also second-handed. I hated that I couldn’t see her with my own two eyes right now. The matebond was a balm for the intense need to feel her, but not a cure—and insanity swirled in the depths of my mind.

I grabbed a thick, dark-colored towel and dragged it over my damp skin. Water dripped down my spine, joining the droplets already pooling on the smooth stone floor. The shower had done little to ease the knot of tension strangling my muscles, but I knew having Pandora strangling my cock would help more than anything.

I tilted my head back and groaned, but something caught my eye—the mirror, a blurred canvas of fog, had a clear jagged arrow etched through the condensation. It pointed toward the sandstone sink. There, crumpled and discarded, lay a piece of off-white paper, its edges singed and curling from the moisture in the air.

My name was scrawled across it in a handwriting that held a sick familiarity.

Then, his scent hit me.

Rod Shadowheart.

I froze. Every single one of my muscles coiled, almost like they were ready to snap. But the matebond whispered to me like it was trying to soothe me itself—Pandora was okay.

For now.

I yanked the towel tightly around my waist and stormed forward, snatching up the letter. My hands trembled to spite me as I smoothed it flat. I hated that I was ingrained to be afraid of that fucking monster.

Son of mine,

It seems you are not taking me seriously. You’ve marked her, and now, you must die along with the rest of her mates. The Fates don’t know what they’re doing. The Veil is superior, and it always will be.

Mating Pandora, Penny’s daughter, should give me the dark magic impact that rejecting Penny should have. I will infect her again and succeed. The water bottle was easy enough to get to, son. I’m going to take back what you have stolen from me. I’m going to kill her mates one by one until the only one she has left is me. Don’t worry, I’ll save you for last and decapitate you in front of her.

—Rod

Nausea twisted in my gut. Sweat beaded on my skin, mingling with the cooling droplets and making them fall faster, heavier.

Delusional.

He was absolutely fucking delusional.

It was him —not Dark Veil— Rod . He’d poisoned her water. He had always been after me, but now he wanted Pandora. My mate. His desire was to break me, to consume her. He wanted to destroy the one soul in the world that I would sacrifice everything for.

But it wouldn’t fucking happen.

She was mine, and I would do anything to protect her.

Shadows lashed violently from me, black tendrils cracking against the sandstone walls and the bathroom’s polished surfaces. The mirror cracked under the force.

A scream tore through my psyche as panic surged down the matebond.

Pandora .

Fuck. Where was she?

I tore open the bathroom door, bursting into the bedroom where the matebond told me she was.

The soft golden light flickered off the walls, and long, ominous shadows cast around the edges. Pandora stood at the center, her marked hand raised toward the ceiling as the other clutched her wrist to keep her hand upright.

My shadow magic had lost control, and it was tearing through her. My tendril whipped wildly around from her mark.

“Stay away!” Pandora’s voice broke, raw and terrified. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Dream girl, you won’t,” Reed pleaded with her.

“We don’t care if you do,” Skel promised. “We can heal, princess.”

“Just let us—” Bram was cut off.

“No!” she shouted before choking on a sob. Tears filled her red eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

“You’re not in control, starlight.” Hunter used his soothing counselor tone with her. “Let us help you.”

“Dex, help her,” Skel begged me, noticing me standing in the doorway of the bathroom. “Fucking help her, man!”

“Of course.” I inhaled sharply, steadying my shaking hands as I pushed myself toward my mate. I wrapped my arms around her trembling frame, pressing her against my damp chest. She was so small compared to me, yet stronger than anyone I knew. “I’m so sorry, Pandora. I lost control of my shadows in there. Seems like it affected yours, too. Breathe, baby. Just breathe.”

Her breath hitched as she leaned against me slightly. “Dex? You lost control?”

“I did,” I whispered, guilt shredding me from the inside. “I’m so fucking sorry. My magic—it’s always been hard to contain. And I... I can’t even protect you from myself. I love you so much, and yet—” Guilt swelled in my throat. “Are you okay?”

Her breathing slowed, and her shadow tendril retreated as it slipped back into my mark on her palm. “I love you, too.” Her arms finally fell and wrapped tight around my waist. “I’m okay now.”

“Thank Fates,” the rest of the guys hissed together.

“I wish we could’ve helped.” Reed’s voice shook.

“Me too,” Skel agreed.

“Don’t be pouty,” Nebula told them. “She just didn’t want to hurt you.”

Why had she let me help, then?

“Dex knows how to control his shadows more than he thinks,” Hunter murmured, his white eyes boring into me. He walked over and tapped a finger on the paper curled in my fist. “What’s that?”

I handed him the crumpled letter. “Rod Shadowheart. Twisted. Fucked up. And?—”

“And what?” Bram asked, his voice cracking.

I turned back to Pandora, cupping her face gently. She looked fragile in the flickering light, but I knew better. She was fierce, stronger than I had ever been. Yet my voice cracked, betraying my fear for her. “He’ll do anything to get to you, trouble.”

Hunter’s vengeance magic burned through the air. “We won’t let him.”

Pandora’s hands closed over my wrists. “We’ll face your sperm donor together, okay?”

A soft chuckle broke free from my chest. “Yeah, okay.” She was right. That was all he was. A fucking sperm donor.

Her lips met mine softly, reminding me that I didn’t have to face him alone.

Everything around us was closing in—Rod, Dark Veil, all of it. But here, at this moment, Pandora was in my arms with her lips on mine.

And with her, I could endure anything.