The tether tightened like a noose around my neck and darkness started to dance at the edge of my vision.
“Baby, let go,” I managed to say as my knees buckled. I pushed everything I could down the tether, hoping it reached him where my words didn’t.
Hear me, baby. Come back to me… Wilder, please…
Just as the world started to fade, hands gripped under my arms, holding me steady, and Wilder’s face filled my vision.
His eyes were full of tears. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
I dragged some air into my lungs and pulled him to me. “I’m fine, baby.”
The scent of him filled my lungs as I pressed my nose into his hair and I let myself just breathe him in. His hands fisted in my shirt as he held onto me like I was his lifeline. Nobody had ever held me like that. Like they needed me tosurvive. I was always so wrapped up in death and destruction, that saving someone felt both alien and… beautiful.
I didn’t know how long we sat there on the white-tiled floor, clinging to each other like we could save our souls purely by touch, but I suddenly became aware of a squelching sound invading this little moment between Wilder and me.
“Wow,” Wilder muttered. “That’s something I’m never going to unsee.”
Vee sat cross-legged on the floor in his wendigo form in a pool of blood, humming whilst he happily munched on Cameron’s liver.
His pale blue eyes, that looked almost translucent in his wendigo form, stared at us. “What? Is there something on my face?”
Wilder snorted and relaxed a little. “I think you’ve got a little someoneon your face.”
Vee grinned, showcasing a mouth full of sharp teeth, and then licked the blood from around his lips. His tongue was dark and forked, more like a demon than an animal.
I stood up and pulled Wilder to his feet. “Enjoy your snack. I’ll send someone to clean up for you when you’re done.”
“It’s alright,” Vee rasped, his voice a low, scratchy hiss. “I won’t let anything go to waste.”
Wilder grimaced and started backing away to the door. I didn’t blame him. Vee was a creature that even I was a tad wary of, and I was a psychopath.
“Come on,” I whispered into Wilder’s ear. “Let’s go and find something to eat.”
“I don’t think I’m going to eat anything for a while,” he replied but he let me drag him out of the white room and back upstairs to the kitchen.
I sat him in a chair at the table and place a cup of coffee in front of him. “Want to tell me what happened?”
He shrank back in on himself, hunching his shoulders and pushing back into the chair. “I lost control.”
“You didn’t. You came back,” I said as I sat in the seat next to him.
His head dropped to the table with a thud, his chestnut curls falling around him like a crown. “I’m a failure.”
The word cut through me like a knife. I slid my hand into his hair and rolled his head to one side so he could see me. “You are absolutely not a failure. You managed to find a life force on your first go. Yes, you lost control, but we can learn from that. You also did it without your full power. Just imagine what you’ll be capable of then. You’ll be unstoppable. I know it. And with you at full strength and me at your back, your father doesn’t stand a chance.”
A small smile fought to break at the corner of his mouth. “Do you really think so?”
I leant closer. “Iknowso. I only felt a fraction of your power down there, and it was impressive, Wilder.You’reimpressive, and I’m amazed that you somehow managed to find me, a mere human, when you could choose anyone else.”
His warm smile finally broke free. “Byron, you’re not a ‘mere human’ and you know it.”
I shrugged and brushed my thumb over his temple, marvelling at how pretty Wilder was when his smile was carefree. “I’m just happy to be yours.”
Wilder got up from his seat and walked over to sit in my lap, straddling my thighs. “I know you can’t love me, I know you’re not wired like that but for me, this connection between us is everything to me. You never thought I’d ever feel this way about anyone.” He chuckled and bit his bottom lip. “Especially you because we’ll, you’reyouand I always thought you hated me.”
I brushed his hair away from his face, warmth radiating in my chest at his sappy grin. “I never hated you, baby. I misunderstood you but you always fascinated me. You still do.”
A blush crept up his neck and his eyes glistened. “I guess, what I’m trying to say is I love you. I know it’s crazy because we’ve been together for like a week, but I do. I love you, Byron. My sweet, possessive psychopath.” He pressed a kiss against my lips, just a soft one full of familiar affection. “And I know you can’t love me back—”