Chapter 31
Evangeline stormed up the stairs of Savon’s home and sat down on the bed next to Nate. He curled around Savon, both deep under.
Heartbreaking.
And if he wasn’t careful, he’d lose himself in there, and she might not be able to pull either out. So she reached out, touched his shoulder, and found him, deeper than she had to go to find him before.
She took his arm and yanked him out before he realized she was there.
Nate rolled up and shot to his feet. “What the fuck! I almost had her!”
Standing, Evangeline moved in front of him and took his shoulders. “You were way too deep for way too long. You want to get stuck there and not ever be able to come up? You were nearly there. You need food. I brought you something that will help. And maybe it will make it easier to surface on your own.”
“She’s lost. She doesn’t move. I see her eyes shining in the dark, deep down there. I almost had her.” He closed his eyes, his chest heaving. “She’s scaring me.”
“That’s how you were. You came back, though. I reached you and brought you back. If you’re almost there, you can start working to pull her up before we hear from this Ms. Murdock.”
He nodded. “A little longer. Please.”
“Nope. No. Don’t fight me on this. I’ll force feed you if I have to. Besides, we should talk.”
“About what?” he snapped.
“What you’ll likely find when you do reach her.”
“What’s that?”
“Come eat. Now!” She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the hall.
He shook her off, muttering, “So fucking close.”
“Yeah, but she may seem closer than she is.” She stopped at the counter and opened the bag. There was a thermos of Frannie’s soup.
The woman could create potions that worked wonders. In fact, her mother supplied her with plenty of soups and warm drinks to keep her going while searching for Nate and helping him find his way. She filled a giant mug she brought and shoved it his way.
When he stared at it, she said, “Drink.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Why do you think this will work?”
She didn’t want to point out it would ensure it would act as a magical alarm clock and make him get up to pee every few hours. “It will make it easier to find your way out. And trust me, you still need to surface from time to time.
He grabbed the mug and chugged it down. His hand slammed on the table, the thud echoing through the home. “Shit, what is this?”
Evangeline’s head tipped. “Soup. Frannie added some things to help.”
“Too damned hot!”
She couldn’t help laughing as he moved to the fridge with a snarl and pulled out the tea, drinking the rest from the pitcher.
“Yeah, she just made it. Which is why I arrived later than planned. Well, that and I brought you some tea that should help you reach her more easily. Here’s the problem. You can start pulling her to the surface slowly, but there will be a point you won’t be able to take her farther. Not without removing the curse.”
“Thought you didn’t know much about the curse,” Nate replied, less grumbly than before.
“I called her friend Tremaine. Apparently, Ms. Murdock will be here tomorrow morning with someone who can help. Which means I’ll make sure you come out a few more times before they get here. And hopefully, you were as close as you thought. Should make pulling her the rest of the way out easier.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, but she’s not running from you now, and I don’t imagine she will. She’ll still feel your bond while asleep. You might be the only thing she’ll reach for. And she may not remember anything, not until you start bringing her up through levels of her memory.”
“Which is what you’ve cautioned me about.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not worried about that.”
“Even if you see her with Tremaine?”
“Tremaine? No. That I understand. It’s Nikolai I’ll have a problem with.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. I’ll be back later to check on you. If I sense no sign you’ve recently been out of bed, I’ll pull you out, especially if you haven’t reached her. You really can get stuck in there, Nate. And this pack needs a true Alpha.”
“I’ll be ready to deal with that after I have Savon back and awake.” He paused, then looked into her eyes. “Why tomorrow? Can’t Robert just grab them and bring them?”
She shook her head. “They don’t want their location shared. So until they get to civilization, Robert won’t go to them, at Ms. Murdock’s request. They want to protect their clan.”
“I can live with that.” He nodded at the thermos. “Thank you. Now, can I go up there and try to find her?”
“Yeah.” She smiled as she backed to the door. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Just put me in my place if I’m being stupid.”
She couldn’t stop the laugh. “Normally, you aren’t. You have every reason to be now.”
“I’ll see you later.” He started up the stairs.
She let herself out and headed to the café.
* * * *
“Savon,” that voice called. “I’m coming, baby.”
He sounded so worried. She longed for someone to need her that bad. She tried to look away, but her attention caught on the molten pools hovering before her.
“Savon.” Long fingers reached out, sweeping across her cheek. His expression softened, a smile pulling at his lips.
Her eyes fluttered shut as she leaned into his palm.
“Sav, say something,” he whispered.
“Who?”
Tears welled up in his eyes. “I’m Nathan Taggert. Nate. I need you to come back to me, Savon. I need you to follow me, and maybe you’ll remember.”
“Remember what?”
“Follow me. Then you’ll see.”
“You’ll show me who I am?”
He nodded. “You’re my heart, my light, my everything. I need you. I can’t bring you all the way out yet, but soon. For now, I’ll show you as much of yourself as I can.”
She stood, he pulled her into his arms, and she went. Her arms naturally wound around his waist as if they belonged. He held her so tight she felt at home in his embrace.
“I remember this,” she whispered, feeling his love wind around her, pulling at her own. Leaning back, she captured his gaze. “Show me.”
“Can you walk?” he asked.
“Don’t know where I am,” she whispered.
He threaded his fingers through hers. “I’ll lead.”
She’d follow him anywhere and fell in step beside him.
* * * *
Relief flowed in. She didn’t resist. Nate led her the way he came, remembering every step. She hadn’t sunk farther than where she’d been. It only took moments to reach her, but maybe an hour to get her to focus on him.
He wanted to get her somewhere familiar, somewhere in her memory that was easy to find. So many places they knew were tied up with sad memories. He planned to reclaim them with better, but it might take time.
She leaned closer as they walked, climbing out of the lowest reaches of her mind.
“Remember anything?”
She shook her head. “Only that I trust you.”
A smile broke loose. At least they weren’t back where they began when she first came home.
“I love you, Savon. Always have. Ask me anything, and I’ll help you find the memories.”
“Always?” she asked.
He nodded, looking into her gorgeous face as he continued to lead them up. “You’re my first memory. I came over to your house to play with your brother when I was little. You were only a few days old. Even then I wanted to see you smile.”
“Why do I feel like I spent too long without you?”
Looking forward. “My father stood in our way, but never again.”
“Is he gone?”
He half-laughed. “At the moment. When he comes back, I’ll destroy him. It’s the only way.”
“We could run away,” she offered. “You, me, wherever you want to go.”
“No more running, Savon. That didn’t work so well for either of us.”
“Who ran?”
“You, because you didn’t understand. I finally got you to listen, but it was almost too late.”
“Listening now,” she murmured, a smile on her lips.
He felt Evangeline coming and steered Savon toward their tree. “I’m taking you to our place—well, within your memory. I want you to stay here until I come back. Might seem like forever, but I won’t be long. A friend of ours is making sure I take care of myself so I can bring you back.”
“You have to go?”
He nodded. “Not for long. Stay here, and I’ll be back quickly. I swear on my life.” Nate helped her sit and kissed her softly. “I’ll be back as fast as I can be.”
She held his face there, placing her forehead against his. “Hurry,” Savon whispered.
Evangeline walked up to the edge of the willow. “Swear on my life I’ll be back in a few.” He gave Savon one last kiss before letting Evangeline drag him away.