I ache to go to Galen to see if he’s breathing, but Henry’s cries have reached a fever pitch. I don’t know where the Earth II soldiers are, but I don’t want to draw any more attention than is necessary. Carefully, I pick my way through the wreckage of the cabin to Henry. I don’t know how we got separated, but he’s nearly across the cabin on the other half of the seat. There’s barely a scratch on him save for a goose egg on his temple. His face is glowing with tears in the flashing lights.
“I’m here. It’s okay. You’re okay. Mama needs you to stop crying. Breathe with me.” His sobs hitch as he reaches for me. I scoop him up and pull him close. “Breathe with me. That’s it. In. Out. Good boy.” Too many times I’ve had to comfort him through one nightmare after another. In our cramped cell at the prison, this had been the only way to calm him in moments of panic. “That’s good. We’re going to be okay.”
“Gawen,” he whines through sniffles.
“I don’t know. Can you wait here so I can check on him?” I run a shaking hand over his capful of hair. “I want to make sure it’s safe.”
He nods, my brave boy.
“Okay. Don’t move from here. Promise me.”
“I pwomise.”
I drag my aching body back to Galen’s side. He’s slumped drunkenly with dark black blood awash over his beautiful face.
His skin is hot to the touch. Even now, in the middle of what could be life or death for all of us, I want to linger, to explore. My own urges shock me enough that I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Never should have kissed him. It’s got me all discombobulated. I should be focused on getting us to safety, not musing about kissing him in places that aren’t his lips.
He doesn’t stir when I shake his arm. My throat works, choking back a panicked sob. Blood runs down his neck and drips onto my hand. I try not to think about it.
Wiping it on my thigh, I crouch down, trying to see if he’s breathing. I place a bloody hand on his brawny chest. It’s shaking too much for me to feel anything at all. Pulling in deep lungfuls of air, I lean close and rest my head against his chest. Through the cacophony of sound around me, I hear the healthy staccato of his heart.
“Oh,” comes the surprised cry from my chest.
“What issit?” Henry hiccups.
“He’s alive. Galen’s alive.”
At my voice, Galen’s eyes crack open, meeting mine.
Relief spears through me. I go weak with it, my head spinning. “You’re okay,” I croak. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
I want to believe that.
I need for it to be real.
He relaxes once he deems we’re both safe.
“Let’s get you out of here before they find us.” I don’t know where we’re going to go or how we’re going to get there, but we have to do something. I’ve never understood the phrase “like sitting ducks” fully until this moment.
“Does this mean you’re my mate?” Galen asks.
It’s so primal, yet it lights a fire in my chest again—a fire that burns quick and bright. At one time, I imagined a future with a husband, but never considered them in such an animalistic way.
Mate.
So strange, yet I like how that thought feels. To belong to someone. Their other half.
Someone trustworthy, kind, and…real.
I want to blurt out that yes, this means we’re mates if I can keep him from doing stupid stuff that gets him hurt. And if he’ll never leave us…
“It means if you don’t move your big, hulking butt, we’re all toast,” I say instead. “Now, can you stand?”
He reaches for me, his powerful hand clamping down on my wrist. “Zelfyre, does this mean you’re my mate?”
My mind is racing and my heart is flopping wildly in my chest. “I don’t know. I don’t know what it means. We don’t have time for this right now, Galen. We have to get out of here.”
Still, the stubborn beast doesn’t move.
“None of it matters if we aren’t an us. I want you to be my mate. I want to call the little mortling my own. Will you have me?”
The genuine, loving tone of his voice is pure and transparent. He’s not a liar or trying to manipulate me. Having been down that road many times before, I’m able to see the other side of the coin.
I want to throw caution to the wind and answer him with a resounding yes. I want to cling to him and put Henry’s and my fate in his hands, trusting him to do right by us.
“Galen, you know I’m not like the other women here. I’m a big wimp. I’m not brave or anything. When push came to shove, I ran. That’s what I’m good at. Running.”