Blooded Mate

Chapter 110 - Restored Honor

They had stacked his father's old desk and chair on one side of the wall. Pushed back against the polished bookshelves was the worn-out leather sofa where Ethan had laid as a toddler with his crayons and drawing books. The dark center table was gone, exposing the pasta sauce stain on the Persian rug Cody had tried to hide beneath it. In its place stood the trunk-like box made from thick wooden planks.

"Ethan -uh. Sorry. Alpha Reyn." The messy-haired vampiress rose out of his dad's favorite leather armchair, pushing her glasses back with a finger. A soft gray blanket wrapped around her slipped down, exposing a red flowery shirt over brown corduroys.

The alpha's face softened. "I still prefer Ethan, Lorr. At least in my own home."

"Yes, of course," she quickly agreed, her head bobbing. But the tension in her shoulders did not ease. She glanced nervously at Ethan's mom, who held up his arm for support.

"Is that Jan?" He stared at the trunk where the unique pinewood scent drifted from.

Ivan's daughter nodded. Then she glanced at his mother again, shuffling from one foot to the other.

"It's okay, Lorr. Ethan is much better now, and he wants to see him. He's not going to freak out. Are you, hon?" His mom asked in a placating tone.

Ethan cleared his throat. Then he shook his head once, not trusting his voice. Already, fear was squashing his lungs.

Still uncertain, Lorr hesitated until Ethan's mom encouraged her on. She skittered to the edge of the box and lifted the lid, which swung up quietly on well-oiled hinges.

Ethan walked around till the cover no longer blocked his view. Then he gasped.

His heart spasmed painfully in his chest, and he had to grab onto the back of the Lorr's chair for support. Hazel-irises flashed red. Heat flushed through his body, pushing out course canine hair down his spine.

"Jan," Ethan croaked, reaching out.

His mom grabbed his hand before it touched the dark, loamy soil covering his mate. "No, hon. Don't disturb the sand. He needs it to recover quickly. Isn't that so, Lorr?"

Eyes wide, the vampiress' mousy brown hair bobbed. She carefully took a few steps away.

Gasping, Ethan's breath came in huffed pants as he fought to hold back the berserk beast inside him. The wooden armchair frame under the leather creaked and splintered under his fist.

Jan was buried up to his ears in sand.

A thin gauze spread over his head covered the worst of his injuries. But nothing could hide the charred skin that had once boasted thick, silky, golden tresses. Or the misshapen dent in his face where a beautifully sculpted, prominent nose should have been. Or the fanged skeletal teeth that smiled at him in cruel, twisted laughter.

"Jan!" Ethan's tortured groan deepened into a menacing growl. Great dollops of tears rolled down his face and onto the sharp canines dipping beneath his lips.

Dear Luna, his soulmate. The love of his life. The ice to his fire. How was he supposed to live without Jan?

"Hon! Ethan, look at me!" His mom grabbed his face, tearing his gaze away from his mate's burnt corpse. "Remember, he's still alive. He's healing, and he needs you to stay calm. You're the light in the darkness that would guide him home."

"Why-why can't I feel him in my head, mo-om," he rasped through deep breaths. "I can't even hear a heartbeat. He's gone."

"He's not... he's not dead," Lorr murmured from the side, trembling. "His essence may be floating inside Gaia's channels. But his body is feeding off the earth's energy to heal itself."