Page 29 of Wrapped in Their Arms

But she didn’t feel safe—not a bit.

Noelle felt like she’d just crawled out of a nightmare—and she had no idea when the next one would begin.Whatif the tentacle monster dragged her into the pool again?Sheneeded to get up—needed to get as far from the edge of that murky blackness as she could.

But she couldn’t move.Shewas frozen—her traumatized brain still trying to process what had happened to her.

She lay curled onto her side, trying to catch her breath, the cold of the metal platform seeping into her bones.Herheart hammered a frantic, painful rhythm against her ribs as she coughed and choked, trying to expel the black goo from her lungs and throat.

Had she thoughtLupin’sworkroom looked like a spa?Well, she had been wrong.

This was no spa—this was hell.Orelse, some hellish nightmare.

And try as she might,Noellecouldn’t wake up.

15

BURN

Burn couldn’t breathe.

The cell felt too small…too close…too dark.Theair tasted like metal and fear and ancient pain.Itpressed in on him from every side, crushing his ribs like a vise.

But none of that mattered.

All he could feel—deep, deep down in the marrow of his bones—washer.

Noelle—she was in danger and in pain.Hedidn’t know how he knew it—they had noSoul-Bondbetween them—but it was undeniable.

Her terror washed over him in sickening waves that made his stomach twist and his heart slam against his ribs.Herpain was a raw, sickening sensation that made his own nerves sing with agony.

The woman he andBrightboth cared for was in trouble and there wasn’t a singleGoddess-damned thing he could do about it.Hecouldn’t go to her, couldn’t save her—couldn’t even get out of this fucking cell!

With a snarl, he slammed his fists into the bars again.Theimpact jarred his knuckles up to his shoulders.Bloodsmeared the cold metal, and sparks snapped from the manacles around his wrists, burning tiny black marks into his skin.

Burn didn’t give a fuck.Andhe didn’t stop either.Hehit the bars again and again.Butthe metal was too strong to break.

He braced his boots against the floor and pulled with all his strength, muscles bulging, veins standing out across his forearms as he tried to wrench the bars apart.

Nothing—it wouldn’t bend either.Themetal didn’t budge so much as an inch.

It was made of some unholySkowalloy,Burnthought—cold, unyielding, and unforgiving.

Just like the bastards who had torn apart everything he’d ever loved.

His breath hitched…his vision blurred.

No, not again… not again…Don’tthink about it—don’t?—

But the memories came anyway.

A scream…the smell of smoke.Theroar of a ship taking off—too fast—too far.Ahand tearing free from his grasp.Abeloved face… gone forever.

Burn’s heart slammed painfully against his ribs as the memories of the past and the horrors of the present merged and filled his brain like smoke.

The bars wouldn’t give…he couldn’t get to her…couldn’t get to any of them…couldn’t save them.Theywere gone…all gone…

He staggered backward, chest heaving, like he’d been punched.

“Burn…”Bright’svoice was worried.“Burn, stop!You’rehurtingyourself.”