He cupped her face in his broad hand and she turned into his palm, pressing her lips to the center of it, the spot that had been glowing earlier tonight. Her tongue darted out to taste him and he growled, low and deep and primal.
It was all the warning he gave her before he swept her off her feet and up into his arms.
With her hair dripping and their bodies still wet from the shower, he strode into the bedroom with her.
CHAPTER 23
Brynne was light in his arms, her face nestled against his chest as Zael carried her out to the bedroom. He held her close, hoping she couldn’t feel the fury that was coursing through him after hearing what she had suffered at the hands of the man who made her.
He seethed over those other things she didn’t say.
Abuse so heinous she didn’t—or could not—put it into words. But it had been evident enough on her tormented face. Whatever had been done to her physically had left no traces on her body. Her advanced metabolism would have taken care of that. It was the other scars she carried inside that had obviously wounded her far worse.
rsquo;s growl sounded more than menacing, but his touch was achingly light on her face. “How long?”
She shrugged. “Years. I didn’t find my way out until after the Order had killed him and the Minions guarding the lab died too.”
“Minions he’d made,” Zael guessed. “And when their maker died, so did they.”
“Yes. Many of Dragos’s prisoners escaped that day. I broke out of my cell and I ran. I just kept running. Eventually, I landed in London. I started a new life there.”
“What about Tavia? Was she a prisoner with you?”
Brynne shook her head. “She told me she was sent to live with a Minion handler from the time she was a child. She was lied to, told nothing of what she was. Dragos ensured her Breed metabolism was suppressed with medications and her handler made her believe she needed the treatments because she was ill.”
“Does she know what happened to you in the lab?”
“No.” God, just the thought made her cringe with humiliation. “I let her think that I was in the same program she was. It seemed easier that way. Easier for me to keep living the lie I chose, not the one Dragos forced on me.”
Zael studied her soberly. “Sooner or later, don’t you think you’ll have to tell her the truth?”
“And watch her shrink away from me in fear for herself and everyone she cares about?” Brynne couldn’t bite back the strangled sound of anguish that bubbled in the back of her throat. “She would hate me for lying to her all this time, Zael. But not before I see her pity for what Dragos made me. He would’ve done me a favor if he had just taken my head and finally ended me.”
“Don’t say that,” Zael whispered fiercely. “Don’t even think it.”
“It’s true. You saw for yourself tonight. I’m a monster, Zael.” She astonished herself by how evenly she was able to say the words to him. Words she’d never spoken before. Not to anyone. Not ever. “Every time I feed, I lose a part of who I am. And if I don’t feed, if I delay it because I can’t stand what I become, then it’s only worse when I finally do give in. If I feel threatened, or if I’m overcome with anger, it’s the same thing. I can’t control it.”
“What if you took a mate? One from the Breed.”
Her head snapped up at that. To hear him suggest it pricked at her, even if it was a reasonable question.
“Never,” she said, appalled by the very idea. “How could I expect someone to share my life when I can’t be certain I won’t end up hurting them? Or worse?”
He ran his fingers down the side of her arm, his eyes searching hers. “Wouldn’t a blood bond with a Breed male help you cope? I’m no expert on that, but I understand the bond strengthens both of the individuals it connects.”
“And if it doesn’t in my case? The blood bond didn’t make the Ancients less monstrous. It didn’t keep some of the worst of their kind from killing their mates.” She vehemently shook her head. “I tried to tell you, Zael. I’m alone for a reason. By my own choice.”
His hand came up to cup her cheek. “You didn’t hurt me tonight.”
She gave him a wry look. “Only because you hit me with a dose of Atlantean electric shock treatment before I had the chance.”
He didn’t as much as smile at her attempt at levity. “I shouldn’t have done it. Using my power like that was a risk I never should’ve taken.” He stared at her, his expression serious. “And if I hurt you, Brynne—”