Chapter 2
I felt different. I knew I had died, and Ciyrs brought me back to life. Shit. There were so many mixed feeling inside of me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel like me again. How I felt about the man in front of me now was different than it was before that monster attacked me. I couldn’t even remember why I fought against our bond. Now it felt like second nature. The bond with the healer was a different story.
It was a good bond, and I could feel a part of him inside me. It soothed me and made me feel safe, like nothing would ever happen to me again.
‘You’re my sister now’, his voice echoed in my mind and my eyes widened. It was strange hearing voices in my head, but I knew his words were true. It felt like I had known him forever.
Pyra smiled at me, but the worry in his eyes still lingered. I could feel his suffering. He hated himself, blamed himself for the attack. How was he supposed to know there was going to be an attack at that very moment? I didn’t blame him.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged his giant body. I tipped my head back staring at him willing his sadness away. “Stop blaming yourself.”
His eyes watered but he shook his head. “That’s not going to happen, Eden.” Then he brushed my hair away from my face. The touch sent a million sensations through my body.
“Can we go home now?” he asked holding me close.
Home? I didn’t have one really. That cabin was nice, but if I was going to be honest, I was a little afraid to be left alone after what happened. Pyra sensed my fear.
“There is no way I am letting you out of my sight.”
I nodded and a fire tried to come to life. My temper would be back, and when it was, when I didn’t feel so damn serene, I’d kick his ass. I turned and waved at Ciyrs. It was strange, but I almost felt like a little girl looking up to her big brother. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that bond. That feeling of anger kept growing, and I would bide my time and wait patiently. My anger was my crutch. It’s how I survived so long.
He tipped his chin and I was led out of the building. Pyra tensed and his hand tightened on mine.
“Can I just pick you up and run. This is bringing too much back.”
It was the fact that he asked and how vulnerable he sounded that made me agree.
“This one time, but don’t get used to carting me around.” Yes. I was starting to feel slightly normal again. He lifted me in his arms and ran. It felt like the wind was whipping in my face, and before I could ask we were standing on the porch to a different place.
“Welcome home,” he said with a smile and placed me gently on my feet. I raised a brow. There was no more arrogance in his voice. It seemed both of us were going through a change, and I wondered if his normal cockiness would come back like my temper was.
I refrained from saying anything mean because he was seriously upset. I followed behind him and gasped. His home was not what one would expect. Most men, human ones anyways, were known to be slobs. But his home was sparkling clean. I was afraid to walk across the floor.
“Well come on, I’m not going to bite and my house isn’t going to attack you.”
I sighed and kicked my shoes off before setting them nicely against the wall.
Pyra laughed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh, yes I did. You’re place is super clean.”
He sat on the couch and patted the spot next to him. I eyed the spot and sighed. My head was full of so much and all I wanted to do was rest.
‘Come sit with me, love.’
I reeled back. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s part of our bond, a link was formed and we have the ability to speak through the mind.”
‘Are you fucking kidding me?’
His chuckle reverberated in my mind, and I felt his relief.
‘Your temper is coming back, I was worried.’
“Talk out loud it feels like you’re yelling in my head.”
“Until you get used to it, that’s how it will feel. It’s normal from what I’ve been told.”
“You knew this was going to happen?”
“Yes,” he replied.
Fire burned inside. “You didn’t think that might have been important to mention before we fucked?”
His mouth dropped open, and I saw the hurt in his eyes.
“Is that what you think we did?”
I wanted to scream, to yell, and to say yes, that is what I think it was, but I couldn’t and I lowered my head shaking it. “No.”
He sped towards me and lifted my chin. “We made love Eden, and whether you like it or not things between us changed the moment I came inside of you. You’re mine and I’m yours. I do hope you will love me someday.”
He leaned in and kissed me. All it took was one touch and I was gone, melted into a puddle of growing messy love. He was right.
I moaned and wrapped my arms around him urging him to lift me in the air. I had almost died. Certainly that meant something needed to change. Life was too short to be so pissed off all the time.
His body shook and he carried me to the couch. When he sat down he situated me on his lap and I straddled him without breaking our kiss. I pushed my lower body against him and his hands gripped me tighter as if he was afraid to let go.
When I pulled back his eyes glowed and I was breathless.
“Well, does that mean you’re okay with our bond now?”
I shrugged. “You’re growing on me. I won’t promise not to get mad or freak out, but I’ll try not to be a complete bitch.”
He nodded. “I can live with that, and you’re not a bitch. You’ve had bad things happen to you.”
I tensed and eyed him. “How do you know?”
“Your memories.”
“You’ve seen them?”
“Only a few, but it just happened during the bond. It opened you up to me, allowed me to get to know you on a closer level.”
I went to pull away but he gripped my hips.
“Hey it’s part of the bond, Eden. I didn’t invade your mind on purpose. Your mind opened up to me.”
I sighed not liking that he’d seen some of the darker things in my life. Tears fell from my eyes before I could stop them. I was not a crier, but I guess dying kind of changes a person.
“Oh love, it’s going to be okay. I don’t judge you, and if I ever make a trip to Earth, I’ll hunt him down and kill him.” Pyra was pissed, and somehow that made it better.
It was in that moment I couldn’t ignore how I felt. The growing love was taking over all the hate that I held buried inside of me. He knew of my darkest secrets and still wanted me. And I knew that he wasn’t just throwing out words to make me feel better. If I ever took him back with me, he would hunt my stepfather down and kill him. Should I have been scared? Hell yes. Was I? Not even a little bit.