He and I both knew what he meant. Being a water nymph meant I derived energy from natural bodies of water. I’d been starved of that for so long. They were sparse when they gave me the essential nutrients I needed, wanting to keep me alive but nowhere near strong.
Because broken merchandise was no good to them and didn’t make them money.
So they hosed me down with spring water, and although I wasn’t human, it was absolutely a very dehumanizing experience… to stand in the middle of the cell as they sprayed me like I was a stray dog.
“I say you’re due for time with the hose again, aren’t you?” His voice was low, maybe too low for the other human to hear. He was taunting me, teasing me. This was another form of torture.
With one more prolonged look in my direction, he turned around and started stalking out of the cell, the other guard following him.
I exhaled and stood there a second before shuffling to the bars. Making sure I didn’t touch them again, I craned my neck enough that I could see them leaving and watched as D produced his key card and swiped it across the electronic panel on the wall. The lock disengaged loudly, and both men exited, the heavy metal door closing behind them loud and menacing, like a bullet firing.
I closed my eyes and just breathed, feeling the power of the magic slowly start to ebb from me. Once I felt more like myself, I bent down, picked up the tray with the half-eaten sandwich and bottle of water, and went back to the cot.
And that was where I stayed until exhaustion finally took over and I couldn’t pretend to be strong anymore.
Chapter
Three
Odhran
I was looking at a dead, broken male.
Dark circles ran under my eyes, and my cheeks were hollowed out, my jaw seeming more cut and angled because of it. And a beard covered my jaw and cheeks because I just didn’t give a fuck about my appearance.
The nasty scar that started at my hairline and curved down the side of my face seemed more pronounced because of my gaunt appearance. What I’d lost was reflected in that raised and formed line of tissue. It was my shame, my failure that everyone could see.
I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. But that was how it had been for decades. Since she was taken from me.
Larkin was so close, closer than I’d ever felt her before. And I knew tonight I’d find her. I had come far too close to contemplate or entertain the idea I wouldn’t hold her in my arms again.
I curled my hands around the porcelain basin of the sink, exhaled roughly, and continued to stare at my reflection, feeling my anger grow. I tightened my fingers harder and harder as I stared into my eyes.
Since losing her, I’d let my Lycan take more control, giving my beast more power with each passing day. I was more animal than man, more feral than sane. I was in a perpetual state of shifting, just wanting to let my wolf free and cause destruction, havoc, chaos, and violence.
But I had a sliver of sanity left in me, reasoning, and a journey, a soul-searing mission that was firmly planted in my mind. If I let myself go, let myself become more animal than man, it would be easier to live with the pain. But I didn’t want it to be easy.
I wanted to feel every cut deep within my soul, tearing at my muscles, slicing out the sinew and tendons. I wanted my bones exposed, wanted to feel the agony of it. Because then I’d know I was still alive. I knew there was still a chance of getting her back.
The blue of my eyes seemed listless, dull. I bared my teeth and snarled, hating the male I’d become. I didn’t deserve her. How could I ever protect her after what had happened, after it had been so long since they’d taken her?
I knew she hated me. She had to. There was no other option for letting her down. A male protected his female, and I failed.
“Are you a warrior?”
“I’m yers.”
I heard the stone crack underneath my grip, felt shards dig into my flesh. I smelled my blood and knew there was probably pain. But I didn’t feel any of it.
I let go of the basin and exhaled, staring at my face once more in the mirror. The muted fluorescent lighting in the shitty bathroom caught the gold around my neck, and I stared at the necklace.
I’d had to replace the chain, because I was too big, my neck too thick and wide, but I’d gotten the original silver one repaired and ready… ready to slip it back on Larkin when I had her in my arms.
For decades, I had scoured Scotland, Europe, even reaching as far as Asia, along the Middle East, and down into Africa. I hadn’t stopped, not one time, not for one day.
And then Cian, a fellow Lycan and leader of the Guard, found his mate. His human female ran, and of course he’d chased.
And so I’d traveled with him to America to help hunt her down. I hadn’t expected to find information in the States regarding the Assembly, who I’d learned were the ones who took Larkin all those years ago.