ChapterTwo
SUNDAY
“Ready to go home, dove?” Noah asked, smiling at me as I finished stepping into my heels. He held out his hand for me as I stood.
“As long as I’m going with you, I don’t care where we end up.”
He tugged me close and kissed me hard. “Careful. When you say things like that, it makes me want to chain you to my bed and never let you out of my sight.”
“Sounds like fun.”
His eyes darkened with hunger, and he shook his head. “Not an ounce of self-preservation in you.”
“Why bother when you offer exactly what I want?”
Noah closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. “I have to get you back. I promised the good priest we’d stop breaking curfew.”
“We wouldn’t want to get in trouble,” I murmured, but my thoughts drifted to being punished by Caleb and what that might look like. Even after the several rounds I’d just gone with Noah, my body was already tingling with arousal once more.
As we approached the now open door, Noah’s entire demeanor changed. He tensed, his body going statue still. “Stop where you are, Sunday. Something’s not right.”
My blood ran cold. “What?”
“They’ve come for me. The Council.”
“Why?”
“Callista Donoghue.” He turned, his eyes wild. “Stay here. Whatever you do, do not leave this room. Do not come looking for me. I’ll return to you when I can.”
“Noah, you’re scaring me.”
He took my face in his hands, sealing his lips over mine in a kiss that felt entirely too final.
Like it was goodbye.
“Noah—”
“I love you, Sunday. No matter what happens, never doubt it for a second. I have to go. Stay here.”
“What? No! I’m not letting you leave me again.”
His gaze turned hard and serious. “I’ll never willingly leave you. Remember that. But you have to stay here. You can’t be with me for what’s about to happen. I need you to understand that. Trust me, please?”
After everything we’d just shared, how could I not? He was my mate. He’d marked me. I could feel the depth of his love for me even now.
“Okay,” I said, confusion and fear making my voice small. I didn’t like anything about this, but the least I could do was try and understand.
He gave me one more bruising kiss, then dropped his head to press his lips over the place he’d marked me. “Mine,” he whispered. “Always.”
Then he pushed me back into the room and left, the door sealing shut and completely disappearing into the wall. Immediate anxiety shot through my veins as the unnerving feeling of being trapped—caged—unfurled in my gut. He didn’t say anything about not being able to leave ever.
Instinct took over, and I clawed at the wall where the door used to be.
“Let me out! Somebody, please, let me out!”
I spun around, my eyes scanning every corner of the room in search of an exit. Even the window was gone.
Fuck.