Page 41 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha (Witch Twins #2)

Electra

I came to after the gas in what looked like a hospital room.

Single bed. No chairs. Bland white walls.

No windows. Hmm. Hospital room or prison.

But there were no restraints on my wrists and someone had changed me into a clean white gown.

Then, when I reached inside myself, I could feel my well of magic.

That settled some of my burgeoning anxiety.

If I had my magic back then I wasn’t in the hands of Humans First any longer.

In my mind, the bond with Bastien was quiescent. He hadn’t woken from the drugs yet. The need to see him tugged in my chest. I could ask, without it seeming peculiar, right? He was my boss and we had both been kidnapped. It would be normal to ask about his wellbeing. Totally.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I climbed out of the bed and tested the handle on the door. Not locked.

A Shifter sat on a chair in the corridor immediately outside, already looking up. A Shifter I recognised. “Charlie!”

“Hey, Electra. You feeling okay now?”

“Yeah,” I said, studying him. His shoulders were tight and he hadn’t returned my smile. “What’s going on?”

He shrugged, not meeting my eyes. Not good.

“Can I see Bas… The President?” I had to remember that our interlude was over. Bastien was the President.

“Sorry El,” Charlie said. “Gotta wait for a debrief.” But he still wouldn’t meet my eyes. Something else was going on. “You hungry?”

On cue, my stomach grumbled. How long was it since I’d last eaten? When Bastien had cooked for me in the cabin in the snow.

Charlie laughed. “You go back inside and I’ll get some food to you.”

I gave him a nod of thanks. Back in my room I climbed back onto the bed, my mind whirling.

Someone didn’t want me to see Bastien. Or Bastien to see me?

I chewed at my lip, as I thought through the possible reasons.

First, the least paranoid reason was that Luc wanted to get my version of the events, independently of Bastien’s in case we noticed different things about our imprisonment.

Yeah, maybe it was legitimate, but my gut was telling me that it was more than that.

The way that Charlie had refused to meet my eyes. He’d been uncomfortable.

Next, was the possibility that we’d been separated because Bastien had called me his mate.

But I couldn’t see why that would be a problem.

My own sister and his brother had recently bonded as mates and everyone in the Palace had been genuinely pleased for them.

I mean, I thought it was a big deal that Bastien had bitten me, but maybe I was reading too much into it.

It’s not always about you Elie.

So maybe it was because Bastien had shifted and his Beast side was in control. I’d never heard of this happening before, and I’d worked with Shifters, the world’s biggest gossips, for the last five years.

A knock on the door interrupted my thinking. “Food’s here,” a female voice said.

I looked up, expecting someone to bring the food inside, but the door stayed shut. Surprised, I went to the door and pulled it open. A tray of food sat on the floor and Charlie watched me from his seat in the corridor. “Kitchen delivered your meal,” he said with a nod.

Okay then. That was weird. Charlie was acting like I had a contagious disease. Murmuring my thanks, I picked up the tray. Sandwiches, some fruit and a piece of chocolate cake.

When I was back on the bed, sandwich in hand, I picked up my previous train of thought. My gut told me that I was being kept from Bastien because he’d shifted. With his Beast in control, he couldn’t lead the Council. Even the Moderates would struggle with him in this form.

The implications hit me. I dropped my sandwich, my appetite disappearing.

I had witnessed it all. I was the weak link. I had to be kept away from the rest of the Palace staff so that I couldn’t tell anyone what I’d seen.

No matter that I’d worked for Bastien for five years. That I’d kept his secrets as well as the rest of his security team. I wasn’t a Shifter and the Shifters had closed ranks against me.

Carefully, slowly, I put the tray on the side table next to the bed. I felt hollow. Nausea churned in my stomach. Five years of loyalty. Five years of my life.

Magic surged under my skin, responding to my increased heart rate. My body knew something was wrong. My fingertips tingled and I shoved my trembling hands between my thighs. No. I wouldn’t allow it to happen.

I hadn’t been this close to losing control since I’d first come into my magic.

My skin began to glow gold, lighting up the room. The trembling spread to the rest of my body, as I fought to retain control. Slow breaths. Focus on something small. The pain of my fingernails digging into my hands. The cold chill of the air conditioning. The beads of sweat trickling down my spine.

One breath. Two breaths. I pictured my magic, settling back under my skin, returning to my well of power. More breaths. Slow counting to ten.

The glow seeped from my skin and the room returned to its normal colour. I counted from ten back to one. The pop of sherbet dissipated on my tongue.

I slumped back on the bed, exhausted from the battle, my heart hurting. With tears on my cheeks, I eventually slipped into an uneasy doze.

***

Bastien’s mental shout woke me. My heart leaped with joy.

He was okay.

He asked me how I was and he sent a wave of emotion down the bond. Emotion that felt a lot like… love.

I didn’t deserve his love. I wasn’t a Shifter.

His people didn’t trust me and I’d tricked him.

I had done it with the best intentions, but guilt was heavy on my chest and I couldn’t stop the feeling bleeding through.

I had planned to reinforce my shields as soon as my powers came back and I had forgotten. Fuck.

Through the bond I felt the moment Bastien remembered what I’d done.

I flinched at his pain at my betrayal. His shock, when he remembered how I’d disobeyed his command to hide.

How I’d distracted him from the Palace guards who surrounded us.

His pain was like a knife in my ribs. I gasped, curling in on myself, glad that no-one could see the tears that sprang to my eyes. It hurt so fucking much.

I wanted to explain, to tell him that I’d done it to protect him.

I knew how much it would hurt him if he killed any of the men who worked for him.

But before I had the chance, I felt him push me away.

He pushed me away. And then it was like he’d put down a shield between us.

I couldn’t feel any emotions from him. None at all.

What had I done?

With my hand over my mouth to stifle my sobs, I curled into myself, whole body shaking. Had I thought I was alone before this? When I’d worked in the Palace, with colleagues in my team. I didn’t have friends, but I had their respect.

I’d understood nothing. How I’d felt before was nothing compared to how I felt now. Isolated from the other staff. Distrusted by my team. And rejected by my mate.

I was truly alone.

Anguish pierced my chest, sharp as a knife blade. I couldn’t breathe. Tears and snot ran down my face, but I made no move to wipe them away. My muscles felt too weak, my body heavy.

Letting Bastien bite me had been a mistake. Letting him past my shields had been an even bigger mistake. It was time to be the Ice Queen. It was the only way I could survive this. I’d bury my emotions so deeply under the ice that I would never feel this sort of pain again.