Page 46 of Monsters Carve Thrones (Crowned Monsters Duet #2)

ADELA

The first thing I heard that morning was the wind brushing through the trees outside our bedroom window. I hadn’t woken up screaming or troubled. That was new.

Rafe’s side of the bed was warm but empty. A soft sigh left me as I sat up, the sheets falling around my waist. My body still ached a little from my training with Laura yesterday. Well, I had to get back into it somehow.

I looked down at myself, frowning at the fact that I was much thinner than before my capture. My hipbones protruded slightly, and my breasts had shrunk just a tad. Thankfully, Rafe never made me feel bad about myself.

I padded barefoot to the kitchen. The marble floor was cool beneath my feet. Rafe had left a coffee cup out for me with a note scrawled in his unmistakable hand:

“With every breath, for the rest of my days, I love you. - R.”

I smiled and poured my cup. And as I drank it, my thoughts wandered to last night. He gave me everything I needed and wanted. He... made love to me. No one had ever made me feel so valued, and I was entirely grateful.

Later that morning, I stepped into the private gym in the lower wing of the house.

It was a larger room with enough space to run drills.

The air inside was still, almost heavy. Dust clung to the edges of the windows, thin webs tucked in the corners of the ceiling.

It looked forgotten–like a part of me. I hadn’t imagined Rafe used this room at all after I was taken.

Laura was already there, barefoot on the mat, stretching with her usual predatory grace. Her hair was in a messy bun, cheeks flushed from a light warm-up. She looked over her shoulder when she heard me enter, flashing a grin.

“Good morning, angel face.”

I snorted softly, stepping inside. “Morning, lovely.”

She rose to her feet and tossed me a water bottle. I caught it mid-air, more from muscle memory than coordination. “You sure you’re good after yesterday?” she asked, not unkindly. “After the training and... anything it could have brought to the surface?”

“I’m fine ,” I said, unscrewing the cap and taking a sip. “I just need my body to catch up.”

Laura arched a brow. “Your body and your soul aren’t the same thing, babe.”

“Thanks, Socrates.”

She giggled, and we began with slow warm-ups, basic strikes, and balance drills.

My limbs felt rusty and disconnected. It was fucking frustrating, really.

My left arm lagged just a fraction behind the right.

With every punch, I remembered what it felt like to fight.

To win. To control something, even if it was just my breath and my fists.

“You’re still a weapon,” Laura said, moving behind me to adjust my stance. “You didn’t lose that. Waylon didn’t take that from you.”

I looked at her over my shoulder. “I know,” I said. And I did. Finally. I took a breath. “Did you ever think about killing him yourself?” I asked. “Waylon?”

Laura’s jaw clenched for a split second before she exhaled through her nose.

“I thought about it every day after he took you. But I think you’d be pissed if I took that from you.

And I’m sure I wouldn’t have survived Rafe, either.

I know what got him through his withdrawals, and our time in captivity was picturing himself killing that fucker. ”

I stilled, setting down my water bottle. “Withdrawals?”

Laura’s mouth snapped shut. “Fuck.”

Nausea curled in my stomach. “What do you mean?”

Laura sighed heavily, as if knowing she just opened a can of furiously wiggling worms. “I guess he didn’t bother telling you.” She sat on one of the workout benches.

I joined her, turning to face her. “He hasn’t really talked much about his experience. Well, your experience collectively, I guess.” I chewed my lip. “He has mainly been focused on me and making sure that I’m okay and healing. So, can you tell me what happened?”

Laura’s brows drew together with concern.

“Of course.” She took a deep breath before diving in.

“While we were looking for you... he was wrecked , to say the least. He was unstable and furious and heartbroken. And he wasn’t sleeping all that well.

” She paused. “He started using oxy to help himself sleep.”

My heart clenched.

“And then,” she wet her lips. “He started using them a whole lot more. We were worried about him, Adela. He was fucking brutal when he killed while high. It was... honestly quite horrifying seeing him like that.”

Tears burned behind my eyes, and I swallowed hard, thinking about the struggles he endured.

“And when we were taken by Waylon’s cousin, Waleria,” she continued. “He suffered horribly with withdrawals. We might have been able to come up with a plan to rescue you sooner if... if he weren’t like that.”

A deafening beat of silence followed. I opened and closed my mouth, unsure of what to say.

I couldn’t exactly be angry at him, considering the pain he felt knowing what was happening to me.

But a part of me was still... frustrated that he put himself in that predicament to begin with.

If they could have rescued me sooner, I could have endured less abuse…

“Hey,” Laura reached for my hand. “Are you okay?”

I blinked. “Yeah, I am.” My chest tightened, and breathing suddenly felt difficult. “I hate knowing what you all went through. He did tell me that you saved his sanity. He told me you were there for him. You, Kieran, and Nico likely saved him.”

Her lip wobbled at that, and her gaze dropped to her hands in her lap. “It was scary. But I know all of us would do it all again if it meant we could see you alive again.”

My throat tightened when I noted the tear rolling down her cheek.

“Adela…” A small sob escaped her. “Waylon sent Waleria a video of him… he–he was…”

My entire world froze. He... what? Why didn’t Rafe tell me any of this?

Laura was crying now. “It was the worst thing any of us have ever fucking endured. It felt as if my heart was being ripped out of my chest.”

Instinctively, I pulled her into a hug while she sobbed.

“Rafe went fucking ballistic. I thought he’d break the chains. I sure wanted to. And that stupid bitch forced us to watch and listen to it three goddamn times. ”

A sob finally escaped my aching throat. I didn't know what to say, so I just held her with trembling arms. And we stayed like that for a while, holding each other and crying it out. Until finally, she pulled away, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

“Thank you for everything, Laura,” I whispered.

“Don’t thank me,” she said. “Just don’t get kidnapped on us again.”

I nodded solemnly, definitely ready to change the subject. “I’m excited to get back to the office.”

Laura narrowed her puffy eyes. “Don’t push yourself too hard.”

I gave her a half-grin. “I won’t. But I am gonna remind them why they fear me.”

She grinned, and there was so much love in it. “That’s the Adela I know.” She threw a towel at me and moved down to sit cross-legged on the mat.

Before either of us could say more, the door opened. Rafe stepped in with a couple of glasses of iced water.

“You two look like you’re sweating out demons,” he said, setting the tray down. “And... crying them out.”

“You’ve got that right,” Laura said. “She’s just catching up.”

I stuck out my tongue at her and took the Sprite and a glass. We chatted for a few minutes. About nothing. About everything. The entire time, I thought about how he struggled. Laura said something that made him laugh, and my heart squeezed again. God, I loved this man more than anything.

A breeze drifted in from the garden, and for a moment, it felt like time stopped.

Eventually, Rafe walked Laura to the front door to ensure she made it safely to her car, and I stayed behind.

I stepped outside onto the patio and tilted my face toward the sun, the condensation from the glass cooling my palm.

It was nice remembering what it felt like to live.

When Rafe returned, I had nearly drained the entire glass of water.

I didn’t know why I felt so depleted lately, like my body was still rebuilding from the inside out.

The muscle I’d spent months training with Rafe had softened.

My core strength was nothing compared to what it once was. Even small stretches left me trembling.

It was humiliating. And I hated that I cared so much.

He smiled as he approached, a glass of water in hand. I watched the way his eyes flicked to mine before lifting to the trees above us, observing the soft green branches swaying in the summer breeze.

He came to stand beside me, quiet and still. Just the way he always had when I needed grounding. He was my husband, my protector, and my safe space.

I hesitated to speak of what Laura and I had discussed. My tongue suddenly felt thick. I could’ve let it go, and maybe I should have.

But I couldn’t.

“Rafe,” I said softly. “Can I ask you something?”

His head tilted just slightly toward me, still not looking away from the trees. “Of course.”

I swallowed, feeling my fingers tighten around the sweating glass. “Laura mentioned that when you were looking for me... you used drugs.”

He stilled. Not all at once, but a slow shift. His breath seemed to pause, and his shoulders tensed.

“She said you were using a lot. That you were... spiraling.”

His jaw tightened. The line of it was sharp enough to cut steel. He didn’t speak. But still, I couldn’t control myself. I kept going.

“And that you were all forced to watch a video,” I added, my voice barely above a whisper. “Of me.”

That broke him.

His fingers clamped around the glass in his hand so hard I thought it might shatter. His knuckles whitened. The silence between us was so goddamn heavy.

I reached for his arm. “Come inside with me.”

He didn’t answer, but he followed. The couch felt colder than usual.

Maybe it was the shift in the air or the war I felt inside him now that we’d stepped out of the safety of the trees and into the quiet walls of truth.

He was never entirely good at deep, intimate, and emotional confrontation.

He was someone who tried to avoid it at all costs.

But then again, he never believed he was capable of love, so he’d learned a lot about himself being with me.

He sat beside me, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together, staring at the floor like it might offer him a script or something. “I didn’t want to tell you yet,” he said eventually, his voice low and rough. “Not until you were okay.”

“I’m okay now,” I said. And I meant it.

He let out a breath, more like a hiss. His hands shook faintly as he ran them down his face. “I wasn’t using because I wanted to,” he murmured. “It wasn’t a relapse. Not in the way it looks. I’d used many drugs before and only recently stopped taking them shortly before meeting you.”

I stayed quiet.

“I started taking something when I couldn’t sleep.

Nico noticed. Then I took more when I couldn’t eat.

Then, I needed it just to get out of bed.

And when we were taken…” he trailed off, his voice wavering like he might cry.

“And I experienced the withdrawals... and then when she showed me that clip–”

He choked.

I reached for him. My fingers brushed his thigh, and he flinched.

“I saw what he did to you,” he said, trembling now. “She made me fucking watch , Adela. You were crying, and I–” He stopped. “I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to die before I ever found you.”

I pressed closer, my heart shattering piece by piece. “You didn’t.”

“I wanted to,” he whispered. “I swear to God, I wanted to.”

I took his hand. He looked at me then, eyes red-rimmed, lashes wet. “You found me,” I said, voice breaking. “You lived for me.”

His throat bobbed, and he nodded. It was one small, desperate motion. And finally, he let the silence fall, leaning into me as I wrapped my arms around his trembling body. He was so strong. Always had been. But that strength had cost him everything.

I held him tighter.

And I whispered the only thing I knew would matter: “You’re safe now. And I’m here.”

He stayed like that for a long time.