The Beta and His Angel (The Belesone Pack #3)

Chapter 4

He figured it was time for Angel to get some sleep. His exertion in standing had taken too much from him. The emotional exhaustion was immeasurable. His mate needed sleep and recovery time, to let his body heal from the latest injuries and to allow the strengthening shake and herbs to do their work.

I am here with you. Feel our connection...if you need me, call to me. Any time, Leo offered, wrapping his arms tightly around his mate and gently brushing his fingers through his wet hair.

I am not strong enough, Angel whispered inside his head, tired but afraid.

It was heartbreaking. A man so tall, so strong and powerful, from such a line of birth that he would never be matched for regal power. All of that reduced to a terrified, hurt young man, with no belief in himself and no hope. No real will to live.

Yes, you are. Use my strength. Take what you need; I am here only for you, Leo tried to reassure Angel that he wasn't alone anymore. He couldn't help cursing Janet, Josanna and stupid little Bricia for messing with his head. Without that, he might have known what Angel was suffering sooner and been able to rescue him. Milo would have helped.

I'm going to get you out of here...we're going to be together and we'll be happy. You don't ever have to be scared again, he promised, leaning his head against Angel's as his mate held onto him, desperately. He wasn't at all surprised that just a few moments later, as Angel nodded his understanding, his mate started to cry.

It started softly, like he was being protected from the full force of his mate's emotions. Soon enough, the tide couldn't be held back. This great, powerful shifter - his mate; a man who stood at least a head above him and had more muscles than Leo had by a long shot - this beautiful boy came apart.

He turned his head into Leo's chest and sobbed, body-racking cries. His mate knew he'd been holding back for too many years. Alone and afraid, Angel had forced his emotions down, so his captors never knew they were getting to him. With his mate so close, so concerned for him, he couldn't hide anymore.

Leo held on tight, crying his own silent tears as he lay on the dirty, disgusting floor of Angel's cage, inside his prison, holding his mate to him. He cried over every mistreatment, every harsh word, every torture and every day of utter loneliness and desolation he had suffered. Every moment of darkness, pain and suffering was all let go of right then.

A weak hand grasped the front of his shirt and Leo held on tighter. He held Angel until it hurt. Until his mate slowly and reluctantly fell asleep in his arms. Until even odd shapes were indiscernible in the darkness. Until his dream walk faded and all he was left holding was a pillow on his bed, in the room upstairs from the pub.

And then Leo cried out his own heartache and grief. Because Angel was gone. He was alone. He was scared...and Leo didn't know how to find him. Not yet.

***

The only consolation Leo had, as he brought his emotions under control, was that his dream walk had only taken two hours. That was what he loved; time never passed the same inside that bubble of a world, as it did in reality. In four hours, Katarina had once seen the events of an entire week. Now, in the space of two hours, he had been graced with what had probably been much more than that, to spend with his mate. And he had woken with a new determination.

He still had an hour before dinner time, so he got himself cleaned up in the bathroom and checked his backpack. It was disgusting, dirty, full of the drained supplies, clothes that he had taken from Angel and clothes he had used to clean him.

Leo breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn't care about the clothes, the water and the herbs that he would now have to replace. All he cared about was that the treatments and the clothes he had given Angel were real. He needed them with a far greater urgency than he did.