Page 10 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha (Witch Twins #2)

Bastien

My heart thudded in relief when the change in Elie’s breathing indicated she was finally rousing. It was bad enough that she had been taken with me. The thought that she could be badly hurt had been my first concern when I saw that she had been tossed into this cell with me.

Beast was thrashing inside his prison, throwing his body against my shields.

He’d never been this agitated before. Then again, we’d never experienced such terror as we had when I woke and saw our mate unconscious on the floor.

As soon as Beast had scented Elie’s blood, he had flooded my body with adrenaline, getting my body ready to fight.

To protect her. Pricks of pain at my fingertips had heralded the eruption of my claws.

I could hear the beat of her heart. Thank the gods she was only unconscious.

My eyesight sharpened until I could see every detail of her crumpled body on the ground in front of me, despite the dim lighting.

I had wanted to lift her into my arms, cradle her against my chest, smooth her tangled hair off her face.

There was a dark bruise on her temple, blood still oozing sluggishly.

She still wore her Palace uniform, but my frantic survey of her form had shown no other signs of bleeding.

And my nose told me that the amount of blood she was losing was minor.

It was a small reassurance, but my panic refused to subside.

Her magic was so powerful, but her body was fragile.

Because of her pre-cog we had never been in a situation where she was injured while protecting me.

And I was discovering now just how it riled my Alpha instincts to see the damage on her skin and scent her blood.

My body leaned towards her almost without my conscious volition.

My mate was hurt. The need to touch her, to hold her, to keep her safe was an insistent drumbeat in my chest. But the shackles around my wrists tugged at the chains connected to the wall, snapping my shoulders back when I tried to use my arms. Electra lay on her side and her arms were also similarly bound in iron manacles, inscribed with runes.

Beast sent me a visual. Of wrapping the chains around my wrists, snapping the manacles, grabbing my mate, ripping the door off its hinges and…

For a moment I couldn’t react. Couldn’t think. He could still communicate? He had only ever tried to talk to me once, when I’d first met Elie. And since then, I thought he’d descended into madness. But this? He was still functioning on some level.

I shook off my surprise. And then what ? I asked him. We’re in a cell. Armed guards are outside. We could run, sure, but Elie could get shot.

Beast’s response was a vicious snarl. He pushed me another image. Of an eight-foot grey monster ripping out the heart of a man while the Witch beside him shielded them both.

NO. Stop . I slammed my mental walls down. I am a man. I am not a monster. I will not let out the Beast.

No matter how tempting it may be.

My attention snapped to Elie when she breathed out a sigh. “Elie. Are you all right?”

She jumped, letting out an adorable squeak. But her groan had my breath catching in my chest. She was more hurt than I thought. She turned her head, her eyes searching the darkness for me, but her human eyes wouldn’t be able to see much in the dimness.

“Elie.” I needed her reply. How badly was she hurt? My hands shook with the need to touch her, my body tilting towards her.

I repeated my question. “Are you all right?”

“Not really, no,” she said.

Beast rumbled, low and vicious in my mind. They will die , I promised him. “Tell me.”

“Bruised shoulder. Headache.”

This time, I was the one who snarled. They will die.

Slowly. There was a short pause, presumably while Elie wondered what the fuck was happening to me.

In the five years she’d known me, I had never lost my temper.

The rigid control I’d forced on myself, to keep my Beast imprisoned, had meant that I couldn’t afford to indulge myself in anger.

Ever. And as the youngest-ever President of the Ruling Council, I spent my days getting what I wanted by negotiating and making deals.

Never showing any hint of the violence that lurked under my skin.

“Do you have your magic?”

“No.” Her voice was flat. Defeated. “My guess is the manacles.”

I had already seen the runes inscribed on the metal. I had hoped I was wrong. “Aren’t they bright little bunnies, figuring out the spell from the stolen journal. Do you remember what happened?”

“It was a waiter at the lunch. He felt wrong. My magic couldn’t sense him.” She sighed. I could almost taste her regret. “I’m—"

I interrupted her. “Don’t say it. Don’t fucking apologise. This isn’t your fault. We were put in an impossible position with your sister’s kidnapping. I approved Luc taking the journal to the warehouse and we knew the possible consequences. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

“No,” she said. “You did the right thing. You were helping Luc and Caly. She’s his mate and my sister. Rescuing her was a priority.”

She was right. Mates were to be protected at all costs.

But she didn’t understand that by helping Luc to rescue his mate, I’d put my own in danger.

She wouldn’t change her opinion, even if she knew.

Elie would have wanted her sister to be rescued, even if it meant putting herself at risk.

She was a fierce protector. A perfect mate.

I had waited five years to tell her that she was my mate.

To Declare my Intent. I held the words in my chest, aching for her to hear the words.

She was hurt and we needed to get out of here.

Then, I would tell her. It was time. I wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I’d behaved badly. I’d hurt her. But I’d had her in my arms now.

And Beast had been able to feel her emotions.

She still wanted me. So she would get me.

While I couldn’t tell her the words I wanted to say, I could tell her who our kidnappers were.

“We’re in the hands of Humans First.” While I waited for Elie to wake up, I’d drawn on Beast to eavesdrop on the guards outside our cell.

Clearly unaware of just how well a Shifter could hear, their casual conversation had given me a lot of information.

The only good news was that they didn’t care about Elie.

And I had to keep it that way. “They’ll be coming to take me away soon.

I’ll be all right. You don’t need to worry about me. ”

“What are their demands?”

“Not sure yet.” The goons outside didn’t know the details. I could make an educated guess.

“I don’t think they’ll ki—”

Her voice choked before she finished the sentence, and she turned her head so I couldn’t see her expression. But I knew what she was having trouble saying. Insane as the situation was, it pleased me that the thought of my death was so upsetting to her.

“It’s all right.” I kept my voice low and soothing.

“I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry.” I could handle a lot of torture.

Especially when she was waiting for me to return.

I wasn’t already dead, so I must have something they wanted.

I might be battered and bruised by the time I saw her again, but I was determined to return to her.

In fact, I was betting on it. I was relying on having more moments with her.

More time. I had to believe that I would have another chance. A chance to fix my mistakes.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. I was going to make this easy. I would go willingly. So that I could come back to her.

“They’re coming,” I said.