Within you I found home

Bonus pt.2

It felt sickeningly familiar, leaving a hard ball of nausea in the pit of your stomach. You felt shivering and weak, your skin ice cold. You didn't think it was down to the chill in the cave, but your body's reaction to something which had happened down here.

It felt haunted.

By ghosts and. . .something else.

The tight pathway took you to some cells. Your throat tightened at the sight of them, your knuckles turning white on the lantern. You'd seen those before, in your nightmares. Your lungs squeeze with anxiety, fear, and the meaning of what it meant.

But there was something else. You walk to the last cell and see those two red eyes peering at you from the darkness. It stood, weakly coming toward the bars. It looked sicker than you remembered, but that howl was something you'd never forget.

You wondered why they kept him here. You wondered why his eyes were that colour—the same shade as the ones who'd attacked you and Mithun in the woods so long ago.

Knowing your time was limited, you moved onwards, leaving the cells behind you.

The next corridor had your palms sweating, despite the coldness of your body. A door at the end was made of iron or some kind of metal. An empty keyhole sat by the handle. You automatically turned the knob, with no results.

A small, barred window sat at the top of the door, too high for you to see through. You stepped back, glancing around you before spying a wooden table with a lantern on top tucked in a groove just next to the door.

You put it in place and stood on it.

Before gasping, stepping backwards and falling on your ass with a loud cry.

That man inside—already looking at you with more blood on his face than skin—you knew him. He was the monster. And that room—

Your nightmares.

This place.

Him.

The accusations. Pain. Blood. Begging.

It had all been real.

Nico—he'd done that to you—

Your mate—

Hurried footsteps echoed behind you, but it was all too much. You curled up in a ball on the floor and covered your ears.

Oh, fuck. You died—

Nico had left you with that monster—

"Baby," his voice, as if you'd summoned him with thoughts alone, appeared at your level. He was on his knees next to you, you didn't have to open your eyes to know that. Nico sounded choked up like he was overwhelmed with his panic. "Baby, c'mon, look at me."

You frantically shook your head, squeezing your eyes shut. His hands gripped your shoulders, trying to ground you. "No, no, no, no, no."

But nothing could. It felt like you were reliving it all over again. Tears streamed down your cheeks, your throat aching with sobs.

"Baby, you need to calm down, your heart—" he growled, pained. It was beating too fast in your panic, you knew that. But you couldn't switch off a panic attack. "I'm here. He can't hurt you."

"You hurt me!"

The heartbroken cry filled the corridor, sounding off the stone walls and ricocheting straight back to you.

"You hurt me, Nico," you whispered this time. "And you lied. About everything. You let me bond with you, withholding this from me. . ."

The world was spinning. You couldn't catch your breath.