Page 119 of Galen

After the study was as clean as it was going to get, I walked down the hall toward the kitchen, surprised to see it empty. Voices trailed in from the other room, and I followed.

Raiden, Bellamy, and Daman were cleaning the mess in the entertainment room, complaining about the vast number of bloodstains. Castor helped them some, but he was still weakened from the torture and collapsed on the couch, the cushions cut open and losing stuffing. They had used celestial blades on him, so his wounds were taking longer to heal.

“How’s the human?” Castor asked, spotting me in the doorway.

“A little shaken up but okay. He’s still sleeping.”

Guilt shone in Castor’s green eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect him.”

“There wasn’t much you could do. You were a prisoner right along with him.” I glanced at the three other males cleaning. “This shit will still be here later. We’ve had one hell of a night. Take a break for now.”

“I could use a burger. Or ten.” Raiden lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face. “Twenty.”

“How long do you think it’d take you to eat twenty burgers?” Castor asked, wincing a bit as he stood from the falling-apart couch.

Raiden scrunched up his face. “Taking my time? I don’t know. Fifteen minutes maybe.”

As Castor struck a bet on how fast Raiden could eat, I left the room and went up the stairs. Storm clouds showed through the windows, and the light patter of rain on the glass calmed some of my budding anxiety.

What if Simon didn’t want to be my bonded mate?

Never growing old would mean he’d have to watch the people around him change, die, while he stayed the same. Not everyone wanted to live forever.

“Galen?”Gray’s voice filled my head as I reached the second floor.“Is that you?”

I cracked open his door and stepped inside his room. “You should be sleeping.”

“I’ve slept all night.”Gray’s big brown eyes peeked up at me from his bed. He was using telepathy because it still hurt him to use his actual voice. A blade across the throat would do that.“Everyone’s safe?”

“Yep.” I sat beside him and checked his neck. Clara had changed the wrapping about an hour ago.

“When can I see Simon? I miss him.”

I smiled down at him. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.”

Gray pushed his bottom lip out.“It feels like forever.”

“I’ll bring him to see you once he wakes up.” I tucked the blanket around him.

“I felt it when Wrath took control of you.”Gray grabbed my hand.“It scared me. I didn’t know if I’d see you again.”

“I think Wrath and I have come to an understanding now.” At my words, I felt Wrath moving through my bloodstream. No longer fighting me though. “Now go to sleep.”

“Can you turn on the TV for me?”

I grabbed the remote and scrolled to the Netflix app. I put on the first season ofThe Disastrous Life of Saiki K, his favorite show at the moment. He cracked a tired smile as I got up and left his room.

Simon was still asleep when I returned to bed, but he woke as I sat beside him.

“Hey, you,” he croaked in a sleep-heavy voice.

I smoothed back his bangs. “How do you feel?”

“Tired. Sore.” He grabbed my hand and kissed my fingertips, one by one. “But happy.”

I stared at his lips before leaning down and capturing them. He softly moaned and cradled the back of my head, deepening the kiss. I never thought I could feel like this.

Ever since the day Lazarus had taken me from my mother and put a sword in my hand, my life was no longer mine. I existed to serve humanity. I existed to fight the dark forces that threatened that humanity. But I had never lived. Truly lived.