His Lover, My Mate

Forty-Nine: Soulkeeper

Against him, Maddox had been breathing harshly, sounds of pure agony escaping his throat. But he never let Rush go. He held him tight against him, forcing their hearts to recognize each other as their blood kept swirling together in an endless dance of raw power and something so intimate that it was jarring.

"Don't fear me," Maddox had kept repeating, his rough voice oddly like a solace amidst the soul-wrenching pain. One of his big hands remained on the back of Rush's head, guiding him to his neck where his scent had been the strongest. He wanted to calm him down, reassure him that they would survive this...that he was not a threat to Rush.

Rush's heart started to beat again. His blood thawed. His claws detached from deep within Maddox's flesh. He suddenly felt so weak that he nearly toppled over. But then a surge of deadly energy gripped him again, and his soul felt as if all the cracks had been slammed back together. His pulse suddenly shot up, awareness streaming through his blood as he recognized another soul sitting right next to his in the darkness.

Brother, it whispered.

"Brother," Rush rasped, his throat raw from screaming in pain and terror. The air had been dead silent, only their breathing giving away the fact that they both were still alive. He slowly pulled away from the big male and looked into his black eyes. Recognition flashed through them at the surge of connection they felt, the bond that could never be broken between them.

This male would be his protector. The keeper of his soul. The one who would understand him, because everything Rush would feel, he would feel, too.

Rush would never be alone again.

The Death Alpha's gaze shifted from his face to the rest of his bare body. He was checking for injuries or signs of distress. When he found none, he looked at Rush again, and took one of his bony hands in his. Pressing it over his powerful chest, he forced Rush to feel his beating heart that mimicked Rush's own.

Rush trembled against the Alpha male, relief blooming in his soul. His vision began to blur, but he could still make out the faint, slow smile spreading over the Death Alpha's face. Even though he was bleeding from Rush's onslaught of rage, he would never hurt him. "Brother," Maddox agreed.

A thousand years passed since then, and they still remained brothers.

And brothers never gave up on each other.

The scent of death and blood drilled into his nostrils as Rush finally came back to reality. It was the smell of the Death Pack and the Night Pack, a reminder that Rush and Maddox were linked by their souls for all of eternity.

"I wish you didn't have to see me like this," Rush rasped out, his throat burning from vomiting out blood and anguish. He was on his knees, with Maddox firmly locking his arm around his torso before Rush could erupt into a violent mess of fur and claws. If Rush had shifted in his haze of insanity, he would have done a lot of damage—to the wrong people. The last thing he wanted was to hurt anyone in his pack.

"I've seen you worse," Maddox's voice rumbled. He sounded angry on his behalf, and it touched him. "And I'll never abandon you. It's just cruel that you have to suffer for her sins."

"I'm not over it, Maddox," Rush said, and something close to panic started to grip his heart, making his chest constrict. "I don't think I'll ever be over it. I can still feel her inside of me. I can still feel every last thing her men did to me." Rush started to shake, his body growing colder and colder as helplessness surged inside of him. How was he going to protect his pack and Aletha when he couldn't even protect himself? "I thought it was getting better, but it's gotten worse. I will never get better. God, I will never get better! I will never..." His voice broke off as a sob racked over his body, tearing through his lips. "I will never get better."