Taming the Queen of Beasts

GAHRYE

Eyes aching from lack of sleep, and too many tears, Gahrye had taken his position at the side of the portal, asking the others to find him there so he would always be present to farewell each of the disformed and their families before they moved through. They left in thirty-minute gaps. It was a risk, but Gahrye knew they needed to get everyone through before the following evening, and some, with children or mates who weren't Protectors, would have to make multiple trips.

So far the portal had opened for each new pair, which meant that they were getting through safely… or had already been consumed by the voices.

Kalle's hand suddenly came to rest on the center of his back and he turned to find her eyes. Almost from the moment he'd returned, they'd been organizing and supporting the others. Almost.

They'd taken one hour.

He'd arrived while she was asleep—or trying to, anyway—in bed in their suite in the Big House. He'd crept in, just in case, but she sat up before he even opened the bedroom door.

She stared at him in the dark and he stared back, his heart cracking.

"Reece?"

"He stayed. They… they needed him."

Then his beautiful mate's face crumpled. He rushed to the bed to pull her into his arms and they wept together, curled under the sheets, but barely aware of the world around them.

"Are you sure, Gahrye? Are you certain? I keep thinking… what if we could have hidden him? What if there was a place—"

"If the Anima win this, the humans are only going to be looking harder for any of our number that are here, Kalle. You know they're already suspicious. We can't… He's better off there. They'll embrace him—he's one of them. They didn't accept his bullshit about being human. They can smell him. They just… took him and… I was relieved. Because he's either finally found his place, or he's going to die fighting for it. And that's… that's so much better than dying in a cage. You can see that, right?" he pleaded.

Kalle nodded against his chest, her fingers digging into his back where she gripped him. "I know… I know," she murmured.

So they'd laid there together, remembering, praying, and yearning. Then they'd fallen together into kisses, strokes, given in to the heat of the bond that had driven them together for over twenty years.

An hour later, neither of them had wanted to move, but they hadn't been able to sleep either.

Kalle lay with her head on his shoulder and he pulled her into his side while he stared at the ceiling, his mind spinning with all that was about to happen

"We have to get the others moving," he'd said, his voice hoarse with lack of sleep. "They've got about forty hours to get through. Once the last one goes, the guards will be given orders on the other end. We can't… the gap is closing, Kalle."

She nodded, her breath catching. "I can't believe it's really happening."

"Neither can I."

They'd clung for a few more minutes. Then, feeling as if moving away from her tore his skin from his bones, Gahrye had forced himself up and out of the bed. He'd showered and dressed quickly, then with Kalle's hand in his, started out to wake the rest of the disformed and prepare them to leave. Immediately.

Now, they had spent all night there, answering questions and farewelling each pair as they entered the crossing and as dawn broke and the first of their last two days began, Gahrye's heart was already racing. Not because he feared that the Protectors wouldn't get their families through. But because with every passing minute that they stood there, helping others, his time with Kalle ticked down.

She'd started at his side, holding his hand. But when he'd needed it to make notes at one point, she'd just leaned into his back and held him.

Now, any moment they weren't helping someone else, they just held each other.

But there were always eyes. Always others present. He was desperate to have her alone, yet time kept sliding through his fingers like water.

Then, with Kalle tucked under his arm he felt the cold spot that had appeared on his shirt and looked down to find his beautiful mate weeping into his side.

They'd just farewelled one of their friends and he assumed she was crying because of that.

"They'll be safe," he whispered, holding her close. "They're going to the place they can help and live and… they'll be safe. We'll make sure they are," he rasped.

But she shook her head. "It's not them I'm worried about," she breathed. Then she lifted her head and met his gaze, her eyes wet and shining, red and puffy. She framed his face with her hands and pulled him down into a kiss, her tears turning it salty when he grunted and took her, ignoring the others who, hopefully, were turning their backs to give them privacy.

They took just two minutes to mop each other up before they turned back to others and Gahrye noted that the Protector would be returning—which meant once that pair left, there would be at least forty minutes until anyone else could pass through.

"We're going to take a break," he said to her, one hand in her hair. "We're going to take half an hour. Just us."

She nodded and swallowed. But she didn't let him go. And when they were finally able to walk away, it was with quick, trotting steps because their time was so short.

But Gahrye didn't care. They would take as many of these minutes as they could steal. Every time. He didn't care if it was two or twenty. And once the others were through and taken care of, his entire attention would be on her.

He looked at her as they trotted towards the house together and his heart clenched in his chest.

How was it possible that their time was almost done?

He shivered and pushed the thought away. He wouldn't be able to continue if he kept thinking that way.

So he walked with his mate towards the house and the few minutes they could steal, and he was grateful for them.