in?”
He knew. Down to his core, he knew. He'd sentenced her to possible death and himself to a certain one. Forcing an animal on anyone went against their laws.
He hadn’t meant to bite her. Surely that counted for something.
If she survived.
“Let me see her.” Desperation cut a hard edge to his tone. “Please, just let me see her.”
Trent cut his eyes away and spoke to the others. “Get him out of my sight. Stick him in the cave until we figure out what to do with him.”
Chapter 21
Three days. Three days without any information.
Seth stretched across the small camping cot, hands folded over his stomach. He kept his eyes closed. Behind his lids, he could pretend he wasn’t trapped in a cage he could cross in a handful of steps.
The cage was sturdier than the ones he’d willingly locked himself inside. Less to punch and fight, too. He’d felt useless his entire life without a lion under his skin, but those years were nothing compared to being locked away from his mate without knowing what was happening.
His lion stretched through him, needling his insides with the sharp pricks of claws. A low growl of displeasure vibrated through the beast.
Holy fuck. The shock still hadn’t worn off. Not entirely.
He’d shifted. Him. The worthless, broken one. He’d shifted.
Seth bit the insides of his cheeks to hold back the unsteady rush of emotion. He’d wondered for years what it felt like to experience his other half taking control. He’d wanted so badly to unleash that power under his skin. All those years were met with stubborn denial.
One woman—his mate—brought it out in force.
He’d gotten his greatest wish and it drove away the one person he thought truly accepted all his mismatched pieces.
Fuck.
She’d been so scared the last time he saw her. The sour stench of it cut him to the bone still.
Seth squeezed his eyes tighter and tried to avoid thinking about it, but three days of nothing but his own thoughts broke him down.
Trent had relented and given him one last moment with Lilah. She’d been placed inside his truck with him locked out on the other side. As if he’d try to rip her apart.
His lips peeled back in a silent snarl.
No privacy, either, with the other lions close at hand. Even so, he’d pushed closer and pressed his hand to the window of his truck. He’d just wanted to see her. Maybe try to explain. But her pale skin and wide eyes snatched his tongue before he’d even pushed out a syllable.
He’d unwillingly played the scene over and over in the days since, his lion snarling a little louder each time. How fucked was it that he hoped she was in shock? He could work with shock. Time to let her heart slow and space to think clearly healed that wound.
Outright rejection? That he couldn’t handle. Not from the woman destined to hold his heart. Not because of his own damned actions against her.
Guilt clawed through him. His lion roared his objections. There wasn’t a life without Lilah. He needed to set everything right.
And yet, he’d been stuck in a cage somewhere deep in Crowley territory for three fucking days, feeling like he’d caught the flu while buried under the worst hangover of his life. His heart hurt. Each beat pounded a nail into his temples. He dragged down breath through gritted teeth and shards of glass that rattled around his lungs.
He’d hurt her. Him. Not Zeke. Not Jasper. None of the faceless enemies in the dark laid a hand on her, but he’d been the one to rip her life apart.
Seth heard a truck pull to a stop outside his humble new home. He didn’t bother pushing upright until footfalls echoed in the short passageway. Arms resting on his thighs, he waited for his jailor to appear. His lion paced through him, too, a giant ball of fury. It was all he could do to keep seated and not charge at bars he already knew wouldn’t budge.
Three fucking days and Trent had hardly said a word to him.
Too much could happen in three days. Hell, three minutes.
“How is she?” Seth demanded, lion riding him hard. The beast wanted to rip out of his body and jump right for the alpha’s throat. He wanted to rake claws and answers from the man’s frame. Trent kept them from their mate.
Trent didn’t say a word. Seth narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong. Trent kept his face smooth, but his eyes were tight