Chapter 77 77
Cold.
That was the first thing she felt.
Not just cold icy, bone-deep cold. It wrapped around her, seeped into her veins, dragged her under like a frozen tide. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids refused to obey, heavy as stone.
Her hands were bound.
So were her legs.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t even feel her body.
A shudder ripped through her as realization set in she wasn’t just restrained. She was numb. Trapped inside herself while the cold swallowed her whole, pulling her farther down into the glacial abyss.
She couldn’t breathe.
Panic clawed its way into her bloodstream as she tried to inhale, to scream, to thrash but her body lay still, lifeless, unmoving.
Immovable.
A cold chuckle echoed around her.
Her mind froze.
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs at the sound of that cruel, familiar amusement.
It was him.
The man who had murdered her parents.
He had come back to finish what he couldn’t last time.
He was here to kill her.
She fought wildly against the restraints, terror fueling her, but it was useless. Footsteps approached slow, deliberate and she could do nothing. Her body refused her commands. Her eyes wouldn’t open. She was trapped in darkness.
Bitter tears gathered beneath her lashes.
He would hurt her.
And she wouldn’t even be able to save herself.
“P-please,” she whimpered, trying to scream, to fight, to call for help but no sound came.
Sobs wracked her body as panic fully consumed her, crushing her chest, stealing what little breath she had left.
“No one can save you.”
His voice was venomous.
A broken cry tore from her as she shook her head violently from side to side, but it changed nothing.
She felt his hand clamp around her face.
“I will kill you, little girl,” he sneered.
Her scream ripped free.
“P… please… d-don’t hurt me,” she begged, terror so intense it paralyzed her. Her lungs burned. It felt as though a massive weight was pressing down on her chest, crushing the air from her.
“Remember my name,” he whispered mockingly.
“Remember Bastien in your nightmares.”
She felt his claws scrape against her skin.
“NO!”
The scream tore her awake.
Sofía bolted upright in bed, gasping violently, her lungs dragging in air as if she’d been underwater. Sweat drenched her skin. Her hair clung to her face, wild and tangled.
She flinched when a hand touched her arm.
Her terrified blue eyes met Corinne’s brown ones.
Relief crashed over her in a sob as she threw herself forward, wrapping Corinne in a bone-crushing embrace while her gaze darted wildly around the room, still half-lost in the nightmare.
Corinne held her tightly, murmuring soft reassurances.
“It was just a bad dream… you’re safe.”
But even as she said it, Corinne knew it was something far worse than a dream.
Sofía retreated against the headboard, drawing her knees up to her chest. Her body trembled uncontrollably, eyes wide and alert as she scanned the room for danger.
The nightmare clung to her mind.
He said he would kill her.
Bastien would come for her.
She pressed her palm to her chest, trying to ease the tight, suffocating ache constricting her heart.
Corinne didn’t need to mind-link the Alpha he would already be feeling his mate’s distress.
Any second now.
She noticed how Sofía’s gaze kept flicking to the window… then the door. Fear etched into every line of her face, as though she expected someone to burst in and hurt her.
Corinne mind-linked Ricardo.
Ricardo. Sofía needs the Alpha.
His response was immediate.
He was on patrol, but he felt Luna’s distress. We’re on our way. He doesn’t look good.
Same here, Corinne replied.
She tried to move closer, to calm Sofía further, but the way Sofía flinched made her stop. The Alpha, Ricardo and likely Gamma Étienne would be here any moment, and if they saw her bare legs…
Alpha would lose control.
“Sofía, calm down, dear,” Corinne said gently, reaching for the duvet to cover her knees.
But Sofía suddenly jumped off the bed, nearly falling, scrambling backward until she hit the corner and pressed herself flat against the wall.
“Sofía, it’s okay,” Corinne coaxed softly. “It’s just me… Corinne.”
The door exploded open.
So violently it looked as though it might tear from its hinges.
Fernando stood there, chest heaving, his massive presence filling the room. Alpha power radiated from him in suffocating waves, forcing Corinne to bow instinctively.
Ricardo and Étienne followed, scanning the room for threats.
A deep, feral growl rumbled from Fernando’s chest when he saw her.
She was curled against the wall.
Her bare legs visible.
“Out,” he growled.
They didn’t hesitate.
Ricardo grabbed Corinne’s hand to pull her along, but she paused beside Fernando.
“She had a nightmare, Alpha,” she said softly. “She’s terrified… please.”
Ricardo tugged her out as Étienne closed the door, careful not to look toward Luna.
The shirt she wore was far too short one wrong movement and her panties showed.
Fernando’s eyes locked onto hers.
The fear blazing in those blue eyes crushed his chest painfully.
“Ana,” he whispered her name falling from his lips like a prayer.
She flinched when he took a step toward her.
He stopped immediately, raising his hands in surrender.
Silence stretched between them.
She watched him like prey, fear sharp and potent, her body tense as though she expected him to attack at any second.
Fernando didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
He waited for her breathing to slow.
“It’s me, Ana,” he said softly. “Your Mr. Ruiz.”
He kicked off his boots with his free foot, movements slow, deliberate.
His face softened. His eyes filled with unmistakable care.
She blinked once, twice slowly thawing from her frozen state.
“Your mate,” he breathed, stepping closer.
“Your heart.”