Through our bond I could feel him losing his grip on his murderous urges, though I tried my best to feed him any way I could. My hands couldn’t reach my cock but I tried to arouse myself with thoughts of him and Freya, letting my length fill out my pants. Every time it happened he would stare eagerly, but as soon as I lost my hold on the arousal he would begin to stare at my neck instead.
Watching my pulse.
With my words I encouraged him to do the same as I was, think arousing thoughts and grab onto his bonds. I tried to see if he could feel Emmett through his bond with Freya, biting my lip when he began to cry about how he wished he’d taken the time to bond with Em.
“Shh, calm down, love. You’ve got this, OK? They’ve got to let us out of these shackles eventually, and when they do I’ll be able to feed you all that you need.”
My tone was gentle but had hints of desperation.
Caspian sniffled, unable to rub at his tear-streaked face when his bondings caused him more pain with every movement. “I’m sorry, Shan,” he hiccuped. “I don’t have it. I don’t. You have to make sure I don’t kill you. If I get close enough to do it, you have to kill me first.”
This was what he’d begged Freya to do the last time he’d been so close to the edge. I’d been furious at him then, but I could understand his pain now. I felt it. My poor hybrid didn’t ever want to hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, nor did he ever want to be a burden. Biology like his was a curse, and he had a conscience that didn’t allow him to brush off what he did when he was feral.
“Love, you won’t hurt me. We’re bonded. Even a beast doesn’t hurt what belongs to it.”
“I don’t trust my beast.”
“I do.”
He sniffled again, and I tried to push as much love through our bond as I could manage. I hoped Freya was doing the same thing. She would be able to tell something was wrong with him, and from experience could probably guess what it was. Especially once he tipped over the edge into madness.
Which he was.
I watched as his expression changed.
His eyes were pure black, as they had been for hours now, but the glimmer of lust and thought in them dimmed. They became black holes, soulless. For a second, his posture slumped in defeat, and then every muscle in his body tensed. He pulled against the shackles holding him, hissing long and low when they didn’t give and caused his body pain. In this state, the pain didn’t faze him. There was no physical reaction, no flinch like Caspian had when he’d first discovered he was bound in iron. Only the hiss.
When he turned to look at me head on, he snarled and sharp canines descended, longer than the teeth we’d used to mark Freya. Longer than vampire teeth, even. They protruded from his mouth, making closing his lips impossible.
Metal scraped against the stone floor, sparking, as he fought against the binds. Every movement became more vicious, more feral, as he was unable to get to me.
Would he kill me?
I tried not to doubt what I’d said, not wanting Caspian to feel it. He was in there somewhere, even if he wasn’t in control right now. Even if he wouldn’t remember what had happened when he came back to himself. Not doubting was hard when all I saw was my sweet mate drooling and spitting as he fought to get closer to me.
Eventually I had to close my eyes, listening to the grunts and scrape of metal and growls and scrabbling of feet against the floor. He was hurting himself in the process of trying to escape, and it made my soul ache. As did the near absence of our bond. I tried to grab for him, but the bond was a hole like his eyes, and I grappled with nothing until I gave up and held onto Freya instead.
I wasn’t sure how long it was until I heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward us, but when I opened my eyes Caspian was bleeding heavily from his wrists and ankles. There was blood dripping from his mouth, his fangs having sliced his lip open, but without the presence of iron those wounds had healed instantly.
At the bars of our cage stood Grey.
Caspian changed his attention to the newcomer, growling loud enough to echo down the hall. Poor Iris in the other cell was likely terrified by the sounds. Then again, maybe not. She’d given me the impression she’d seen a lot during her time here, and had endured horrors I couldn’t begin to comprehend.
Grey watched in keen interest, making notes on the clipboard in his hand. I wanted to shout at him to fuck off or do something about Caspian’s state, but I wouldn’t give away how distressed I was. The second I’d heard him coming, I’d placed the mask back on. The one I’d given up after I thought I’d lost Freya to Kylan.
After a couple minutes of observing, Grey hummed and turned on his heel, marching away.
He was a man of few words, but was efficient. That was why he’d been around long enough Nolan knew who he was. I’d imagined a man like Kylan would go through right-hand men like crazy, but even for a ruthless mafia lord it was pointless to get rid of a man who stayed quiet and did as he was told.
An indeterminate amount of time later, Grey was back. This time, there was a mage with him. It was the same one who’d strained with the portal we’d been pushed through. A relatively weak mage. Not strong enough to be a threat to someone like Kylan, but strong enough to help him in ways he needed. “Remove the shackles on the feral one,” Grey ordered.
My blood ran cold.
The witch mumbled a spell but slower than Freya spoke hers, fumbling a couple of the words. One shackle snapped open and Caspian used his free hand to reach out and grab the floor, trying to pull himself forward. Each one was removed, anticipation building as he was freed until only one piece of iron around his ankle held him back. Freya would have been able to remove all with one spell.
Caspian was going for the bars first, his attention single-minded, and Grey stepped a good distance back until he was out of range. “The last one,” he demanded of the witch, who’d hesitated on the final spell.
Spurred on, he said it a final time.
