Mending the Beast (Awakening Pride #10) - Lacey Thorn Page 0,1
the need to find Daniel became a frantic beat inside her.
“Ariel.”
His call whispered around her, light and soft as a breeze that slowly lifted to surround her, dancing over her skin like soft hands offering comfort. She felt the brush of them over her cheeks, drying her tears. Then across her lips, leaving a tingling warmth that had her parting them on a soft gasp.
“Daniel.”
The low, mournful call of a lion had her moving, running swiftly through what appeared to be woods she was unfamiliar with. She heard voices behind her, the voices that always haunted her nightmares. Once, they’d made her tremble and fight to wake, but this time, she ignored them. She ignored the taunts and jeers, pushed aside the feel of invisible hands slapping at her flesh, pinching and poking and prodding. She shoved it all aside with a ferocious yell as she burst into a clearing.
A single beam of moonlight shone down, illuminating the huge lion that prowled beside a prone body. She knew those legs, recognized the fingers curled passively at his sides as if merely sleeping. As the lion moved, she saw the curve of his face, the tangle of dark blond hair that he was always running his fingers through or tugging on.
“Daniel.”
He didn’t move, and though she’d just been running to find him, it was as if her feet were shackled to the earth. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break free. The lion prowled, his mournful cry sending shivers over her skin.
“Wake up,” she pleaded, and she wasn’t sure if she was speaking to herself or the man lying across from her.
The lion stopped and turned toward her. Sadness surrounded him, rolling off him until it crashed into her, crashed over her. She shook her head even before she heard the command in her head.
“Save him!”
“I can’t.” She frantically jerked her head back and forth. Hands grabbed her from behind, pulling and hurting her. Words spoken in harsh tones overwhelmed her as she was tugged backward, away from the lion and Daniel. Away from what could be and back into the dregs of the hell she’d never completely left.
“Save him!”
She couldn’t. She was as incapable of saving him as she was of saving herself. She knew where they were taking her, knew the hell that awaited her. She wanted to rage, to fight, but as the past pulled her under, fear locked her in place, leaving her helpless. And alone. Always alone.
Ariel woke with a scream on her lips, leaping to crouch bedside the sweat-soaked mattress as she was ripped from the night terror. Someone banged on the wall in a passive attempt to quiet the demon that still held her by the throat. She bit her lip so hard she drew blood. The metallic taste soothed the rawness of her throat much as it had that day. If that wasn’t as fucked up as it got, she wasn’t sure what was.
Her gaze immediately sought out her phone, charging on the nightstand in the hotel room she’d be leaving as soon as she showered away the remnants of the dream. Funny how something she avoided like the plague could also be a lifeline. No one had missed her yet. It was no less than she deserved. She’d withdrawn, pulling away from everyone and isolating herself. She really had only herself to blame for no one noticing she wasn’t there.
She was taking a lesson from another pride member, Kenzie Marshall. It wasn’t exactly the same, but Kenzie had left the pride after her mate had mated her then left. Gabriel Erikson. Daniel’s brother.
Kenzie had gone in search of answers to her past. Ariel was fleeing because she couldn’t escape her past. Or at least, one defining moment of it. Gabriel had left Kenzie to save another member of their pride. One who’d been in serious trouble. Ariel wanted to believe she was leaving Daniel to save him. He deserved a chance at real happiness with a real mate. One who was unbroken. Maybe, if the mate fate had chosen for him wasn’t there, they’d grant him another one.
If some small part of her raged at the idea of Daniel with another, she pushed it down, locking it away deep inside where she hoped it would remain silent. The best thing she could do for Daniel was to walk away. Maybe, with her gone, he’d finally be able to stay.
He wasn’t home in Riverton, Oklahoma now, anyway. He rarely was since